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Latest  Date  stamped  below. 

..  •  hnoks  are  reasons 

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for  dissipllnory  ostlon  and  may 
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1096 


APOLLO 


MANUAL 


i  OF 

MYTHOLOGY 


GREEK  AND  ROMAN 
NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN,  HINDOO  AND 
EGYPTIAN  MYTHOLOGY 


BY 

ALEXANDER  S.  MURRAY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  GREEK  AND  ROMAN  ANTIQUITIES,  BRITISH  MUSEUM 


mTH  NOTES,  REVISIONS  AND  ADDITIONS 

BY 

WILLIAM  H.  KLAPP 

HEADMASTER  OF  THE  EPISCOPAL  ACADEMY,  PHILADELPHIA, 
MEMBER  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PHILOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION, 
UNIVERSITY  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION,  ETC.,  ETC. 


WITH 

TIVO  HUNDRED  ILLUSTRATIONS,  AND 
A  COMPLETE  INDEX. 


PHILADELPHIA 

henry  ALTEMUS  CO, 


rn 


PEEFAOE. 


»  ' 


The  rapid  sale  of  the  first  edition  of  The  Manual  of 
Mythology  was  so  signal  an  assurance  of  public  favor,  that 
in  preparing  the  second  edition,  which  is  now  called  for, 
every  effort  has  been  made  to  render  it  efficient  as  a  stand¬ 
ard  text-book.  The  descriptions  of  the  Greek  deities  have 
been  largely  re-written,  and  at  the  end  of  each  has  been 
added,  in  smaller  type,  an  account  of  the  most  memorable 
works  of  art  in  which  each  deity  is  or  was  represented. 
Among  the  legends  of  the  Greek  heroes,  those  of  the  labors 
of  Hercules  have  been  re-written  and  greatly  enlarged.  The 
chapters  on  the  Eastern  and  Northern  Mythology  are  en¬ 
tirely  new,  and  have  been  further  made  more  readily  com¬ 
prehensible  by  the  addition  of  new  illustrations. 

With  these  alterations,  it  is  hoped  that  the  Manual  will 
now  justify  its  claims  to  be  a  trustworthy  and  complete  class- 
book  for  Mythology.  This  much  it  may  also  claim  :  to  be 
no  longer  described  as  founded  on  the  works  of  Petiscus, 
Preller,  and  Welcker.  Not  that  in  its  new  form  it  owes 
less  to  the  splendid  researches  of  Preller  and  Welcker.  On 
the  contrary,  it  owes  more  than  ever  to  them,  but  this  time 
as  masters  whose  works  have  rather  been  an  assistance 
which  it  is  a  pride  to  acknowledge,  than  models  to  copy 

with  exactness.  / ...  x 


b / 3784 


AMERICAN  EDITOR’S  PREFACE. 


It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  offer  an  apology  in  present¬ 
ing  a  new  edition  of  Murray’s  Manual  of  Mythology  to  the 
public.  The  work  itself  is  an  invaluable  one  to  whoever 
would  understand  the  religions  of  antiquity,  and  of  equal 
importance  to  the  student  of  our  own  literature,  and, 
indeed,  to  any  one  who  expects  thoroughly  to  enjoy  the 
accepted  English  classics.  Though  widely  known  through¬ 
out  Great  Britain,  it  has  had  but  a  limited  circulation  in 
America,  and  this  sphere  it  is  now  designed  to  enlarge  by 
presenting  a  revised  and  handsomely  illustrated  text. 

Naturally  the  religions  of  Greece  and  Rome  play  a  more 
prominent  part  than  the  Asiatic,  Egyptian,  or  Norse,  and 
consequently  more  space  is  devoted  to  them.  Additions 
have  been  made  when  necessary,  but  nothing  has  been 
omitted  ;  the  whole  text  has  been  thoroughly  revised. 

Here  arose  a  question  as  to  the  spelling  of  the  Greek 
proper  names — whether,  following  the  movement  initiated 
by  Grote  and  amplified  by  Gladstone  and  the  purists,  the 
proper  names  should  be  transliterated,  or  whether  the  old 
spelling  derived  through  the  Latin  should  be  adopted? 
Personally,  transliteration  is  preferred,  but  the  difficulty  of 
reproducing  certain  sounds  and  the  unfamiliarity  of  the 
general  reading  public  with  the  Greek  forms  were  powerful 

(v) 


VI 


AMERICAN  EDITOR’S  PREFACE, 


factors  against  it.  It  was  finally  determined  to  adopt  the 
Latin  spelling  throughout  the  book.  Almost  all  the  Greek 
names  can  be  found  in  some  Latin  author,  and  consistency 
at  least  is  thereby  obtained.  The  book  is  not  intended  for 
profound  scholars,  who  are  as  familiar  with  the  Greek  as 
with  the  Latin  forms,  but  for  the  younger  students  and  for 
those  who  wish  to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  grand  and 
interesting  myths  of  antiquity,  which  have  had  unbounded 
influence  on  the  literature  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  in  no 
less  degree  upon  our  own. 

The  editor  desires  to  express  his  obligations  for  many 
valuable  suggestions  to  Professors  John  William  White,  of 
Harvard  University  ;  Bernadotte  Perrin,  of  Yale  Univer¬ 
sity ;  B.  L.  Gildersleeve,  of  Johns  Hopkins  University; 
and  W.  A.  Lamberton,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  engravings  have  been  prepared  with  great  care,  and, 
it  is  believed,  will  prove  a  valuable  and  artistic  aid  to  the 
proper  understanding  and  enjoyment  of  the  text.  A  full 
and  careful  index  has  been  prepared,  without  which  a  book 
like  this  is  practically  useless,  and  especial  attention  has 
been  paid  to  the  orthography.  W.  H.  K. 


OeroBER,  1897, 


PUBLISHERS’  NOTE. 


Murray’s  Manual  of  Mythology  has  been  known  to  the 
American  public  thus  far  only  through  the  English  edition. 
As  originally  published,  the  work  was  deficient  in  its  ac¬ 
count  of  the  Eastern  and  Northern  Mythology  ;  but  with 
these  i m perfections  it  secured  a  sale  in  this  country  which 
proved  that  it  more  nearly  supplied  the  want  which  had  long 
been  felt  of  a  compact  hand-book  in  this  study  than  did  any 
other  similar  work.  The  preface  to  the  second  English 
edition  indicates  the  important  additions  to,  and  changes 
which  have  been  made  in,  the  original  work.  Chapters  upon 
the  Northern  and  Eastern  Mythology  have  been  supplied, 
the  descriptions  of  many  of  the  Greek  deities  have  been  re¬ 
written,  accounts  of  the  most  memorable  works  of  art  in 
which  each  deity  is  or  was  represented  have  been  added, 
and  a  number  of  new  dlustrations  have  been  inserted.  This 
American  edition  has  been  reprinted  from  the  perfected 
work.  Every  illustration  given  in  the  original  has  been 
carefully  reproduced  ;  and  the  new  chapters  upon  Eastern 
and  Northern  Mythology  were  thoroughly  revised  by  Prof. 
W.  D.  Whitney,  of  Yale  College,  who  corrected  some 

minor  inaccuracies  which  had  escaped  observation  in  the 

(vii) 


PUBLISHERS'  NOTE. 


•  •  • 

Vlll 

English  edition.  The  volume  in  its  revised  form  is  with¬ 
out  a  rival  among  manuals  upon  this  interesting  subject. 
For  the  purpose  of  a  text-book  in  high  schools  and  colleges, 
and  a  guide  to  the  art  student  or  general  reader,  it  will  be 
found  invaluable. 


The  Acropolis  of  Athens, 


CONTE^^TS. 


Introduction  .  ,  .  c  .  . 

Greek  and  Roman  Mythology— 

The  Creation  of  the  World 
Deities  of  the  Highest  Order  , 

Inferior  Deities  ,  =  o  * 

Demigods  or  Heroes  .... 

Norse  and  Old  German  Mythology 

Mythology  and  Religion  of  the  Hindoos— 
The  Vedic  Gods  ..... 
The  Brahmanic  Gods  .... 

Mythology’^  and  Religion  of  Egypt  . 

Index 


PAGE 

1 

.  20 
.  25 

.  142 
.  228 

.  356 

.  379 
.  388 

.  394 

.  409 


(ix) 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTKATIONS. 


FULL  PAGE  PLATES. 


Aphrodite,  or  Venus 

Facing  page 

192 

Apollo 

.  Frontisp 

ieee. 

Apollo  Belvedere  . 

Facing  page 

304 

Ares,  or  Mars  . 

11 

1 

Ares,  or  Mars  . 

208 

Artemis,  or  Diana  . 

it 

320 

Dionysus,  or  Bacchus 

« 

128 

Hera,  or  Juno  . 

11 

32 

Hermes,  or  Mercury 

u 

272 

Laocoon 

u 

256 

Niobe  .... 

u 

112 

Pallas  Athene,  or  Minerva 

« 

80 

Phoebus  Apollo 

li 

160 

Poseidon,  or  Neptune 

u 

144 

Satyr, A  . 

u 

64 

Zeus,  or  Jupiter 

tt 

48 

ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Achilles  and  Chiron,  333 
Acropolis  at  Athens,  viii 
Aesculapius,  205 
Agni,  385 

Ajax  Bearing  the  Body  of  Patroclus, 
337 

Amazons,  341,  343 
Amphion  and  Zethus,  259 
AmphiU-ito,  57 


Amun,  397 
Andromeda,  245 
Aphrodite,  or  Venus,  93 
Apis,  403 

Apollo  and  Hyacinthus,  107 
Apollo,  Pan,  and  Midas,  115 
Archemorus,  Death  of,  321 
Ares,  or  Mars,  82 
Argo,  Building  the,  309 

(xi) 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


•  • 

XU 


Argus,  137 

Ariadne  Abandoned,  245 
Artemis,  or  Diana,  119 
Asiatic  Artemis,  120 
Astraea,  46 
Atlas,  174 
Aurora,  1 

Bacchus,  129 
Bellerophon,  251 

Bellerophon,  Pegassus,  and  the  Chi- 
maera,  253 

Boreas  Carrying  off  Orithyia,  184 
Brahma  and  Saraswati,  389 
Buddha,  393 

Cadmus  Slays  the  Dragon,  256 
Calliope,  177 

Capitol  and  Temple  of  Jupiter,  in 
Borne,  X 
Centaur,  263 
Chiron,  265 
Circe,  353 
Clio,  176 

Council  of  the  Gods,  25 
Cronus  and  Bhea,  28 
Cupid  and  Psyche,  189 
Curetes  Guarding  Zeus,  29 

Daedalus  and  Icarus,  275,  277 
Danaides,  63 
Demeter,  or  Ceres,  71,  75 
Deucalion  and  Pyrrha,  233 
Diana  and  Endymion,  123 
Diana’s  Temple  at  Ephesus,  124 
Dioscuri  (Castor  and  Pollux  i,  329 

Echo  and  Narcissus,  172 
Eiren,  211 
Eos,  or  Aurora,  185 
Eos  and  Cephalus,  186 
Erato,  180 

Erinys,  One  of  the,  217 
Eros,  of  Praxiteles,  22 
Euterpe,  178 

Faunus,  or  Fatuus,  152 
Fenris,  The  Wolf,  369 
Fortuna,  208 
Freija,  359 
Freyr,  367 
Frigg,  362 

01 

Ganymedes,  200,  202 


Girdle  of  Hippolyte,  291 
Graces,  The,  197 

Hades  Throned,  59 
Harpies,  218 
Hebe,  200,  201 
Hecate,  76 

Hector  and  Andromache,  339 
Helios,  or  Sol,  104,  117 
Hephaestus,  or  Vulcan,  87 
Hera,  or  Juno,  48 
Hercules,  281 

Hercules  and  Cerberus,  297 
Hercules  and  Hebe,  Marriage  of,  301 
Hercules  and  the  Lernean  Hydra, 
287 

Hercules  and  the  Nemean  Lion,  285 
Hercules  and  Omphale,  299 
Hermes,  or  Mercury,  133,  139 
Heroes  of  the  Trojan  War,  324 
Hestia,  or  Vesta,  78 
Hora,  or  Flora,  144 
Horae,  One  of  the,  142 
Horae,  or  Hours,  143 
Hygea,  Aesculapius,  and  Teles- 
phorus,  207 

Hymen,  or  Hymenaeus,  196 

In  the  Brave  Days  of  Old,  355 

Indr  a,  381 

lo  and  Zeus,  138 

Iphigenia,  335 

Iphigenia,  Sacrifice  of,  334 

Iris,  182 

Isis,  406 

Ixion,  62  ' 

Janus,  147 
Jupiter,  37 

Kamadeva,  392 

Leto,  or  Latona,  112 

Mars  and  Venus,  83 
Marsyas,  113 
Medea,  315 

Medea,  Jason,  and  the  Golden  Fleece, 
313 

Medusa,  The  Dying,  220 
Meleager,  307 
Melpomene,  176 

Mercury  Before  Pluto  and  Proser¬ 
pina,  135 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


XI 11 


Moerae,  The,  212 
Mother  of  the  Muses,  175 

^^ereid.  A,  162 
Nike,  or  Victoria,  209 
Nile  God,  The,  167 

Odin,  361 

Oedipus  and  Antigone,  319 
Olympus,  20 

Orestes  Slaying  Aegisthus,  319 
Orpheus  and  Eurydice,  267 
Orpheus,  Eurydice,  and  Hermes,  269 
Osiris,  401,  402 

Palladium,  The,  102 
Pallas  Athene,  by  Phidias,  99 
Pan  and  Apollo,  151 
Pandora,  235 

Pandora  and  Her  Box,  237 
Paris  and  Helena,  327 
Pegasus  and  the  Nymphs,  169 
Persephone,  Abduction  of,  68 
Persephone,  or  Proserpina,  66 
Perseus,  247 
Phaethon,  126 
Phrixus  and  Helle,  311 
Pluto  and  Persephone,  67 
Polyhymnia,  179 

Polyphemus  Hurling  the  Bock,  351 
Poseidon,  or  Neptune,  53 
Procris,  Death  of,  187 
Psyche  at  the  Couch  of  Cupid,  191 
Psyche  in  the  Lower  World,  193 
Pthah,  396 

E-hea,  34,  35 

Bomulus  and  Bemus,  354 


Saturnus,  32 
Satyr,  155 
Serapis,  404 
Serapis  Throned,  405 
Silenus,  159 
Silvanus,  157 
Siren,  165 
Sisyphus,  62 
Siva,  391 

Tantalus,  62 
Terpsichore,  181 
Thalia,  177 
Themis,  141 
Theseus,  303 

Theseus  and  the  Minotaurus,  273 
Thor,  363,  364 

Tiber,  The  Father  of  the,  1 67 
Trimurti,  the  Hindoo  Trinity,  388 
Triptolemus,  73 
Tritons,  164 

Ulysses  and  Telemachus,  330 
Ulysses  Discovers  Achilles,  331 
Urania,  178 

Valkyrior,  371 

Venus,  “The  Most  Beautiful,’’  325 
Vestal,  A,  79 
Vishnu,  390 

Vishnu,  The  Incarnation  of,  377 

Zeus,  or  Jupiter,  36 
Zeus  and  Hera,  Marriage  of,  41 
Zeus  Carrying  off  Europa,  255 
Zeus’  Temple  in  Olympia,  45 


Kjr  L  Kjr  iixr-i  \.j(\jij 


o3 

U 


(  XV  _ 


Jili(frci) — 2 


INTRODUCTION. 


There  is  a  charm  in  the  name  of  ancient  Greece;  there  is 
glory  in  every  page  of  her  history;  there  is  a  fascination  in 
the  remains  of  her  literature,  and  a  sense  of  unapproachable 
beauty  in  her  works  of  art;  there  is  a  spell  in  her  climate 
still,  and  a  strange  attraction  in  her  ruins.  We  are  familiar 
with  the  praises  of  her  beautiful  islands;  our  poets  sing  of 
her  lovely  genial  sky.  There  is  not  in  all  the  land  a  moun¬ 
tain,  plain,  or  river,  nor  a  fountain,  grove,  or  wood,  that  is 
not  hallowed  by  some  legend  or  poetic  tale.  The  names  of 
her  artists,  Phidias,  Praxiteles,  Apelles,  and  Zeuxis ;  of  her 
poets,  Homer,  Pindar,  Aeschylus,  Sophocles,  Euripides;  of 
her  philosophers,  Socrates,  Plato,  Epicurus;  the  names  of  her 
statesmen  and  orators,  Pericles  and  Demosthenes;  of  her 
historians,  Herodotus,  Thucydides,  and  Xenophon;  of  her 
mathematicians,  Archimedes  and  Euclid,  are  familiar  to  us 
as  household  words.  We  look  back  over  a  period  of  more 
than  two  thousand  years  with  feelings  of  wonder  at  her 
achievements  on  the  battle-field  and  in  the  arts  of  peace. 
We  emulate  her  in  many  ways,  but  always  confess  to  fail¬ 
ure  ;  and  when  we  have  no  desire  of  emulation,  we  are  still 
ready  in  most  cases  to  admire, 


I 


‘5 


(1) 


2 


INTRODUCTION. 


How  far  we  may  find  just  cause  for  admiration  or  the  con-  f 
trary  with  regard  to  her  religion  remains  to  be  seen.  But  5 
whichever  way  it  be,  we  shall  at  any  rate  find  abundant  | 
evidence  of  the  intense  hold  it  had  upon  the  great  mass  of  ; 
the  people,  and  of  the  important  influence  it  was  calculated 
to  exercise  on  their  civilization.  For  it  was  in  the  firm  belief 
of  his  interests  being  the  special  care  of  a  deity  that  the  hus-  ■ 
band  man  sowed  his  seed,  and  watched  the  vicissitudes  of  its  i 
growth;  that  the  sailor  and  trader  entrusted  life  and  prop¬ 
erty  to  the  capricious  sea.  The  mechanic  traced  the  skill  ' 
and  handicraft  which  grew  unconsciously  upon  him  by  prac-  ? 
tice  to  the  direct  influence  of  a  god.  Artists  ascribed  the 
mysterious  evolution  of  their  ideas,  and  poets  the  inspiration 
of  their  song,  to  the  same  superior  cause.  Daily  bread  and 
daily  life,  the  joy  and  gladness  that  circulated  at  festal  gath¬ 
erings,  were  duly  acknowledged  as  coming  from  the  same  ' 
high  source.  Everywhere  in  nature  was  felt  the  presence  of 
august  invisible  beings  :  in  the  sky,  with  its  luminaries  and 
clouds;  on  the  sea,  with  its  fickle,  changeful  movements;  on 
the  earth,  with  its  lofty  peaks,  its  plains,  and  rivers.  It 
seemed  that  man  himself,  and  everything  around  him,  was  ] 
upheld  by  Divine  power;  that  his  career  was  marked  out  for  ’ 
him  by  a  rigid  fate  which  even  the  gods  could  not  alter,  ^ 
should  they  wish  it  on  occasion.  He  was  indeed  free  to  act,  : 
but  the  consequences  of  all  his  actions  were  settled  before-  ! 
hand. 

These  deities  to  whom  the  affairs  of  the  world  were  en¬ 
trusted  were,  it  was  believed,  immortal,  though  not  eternal  ' 
in  their  existence,  as  we  shall  see  when  we  come  to  read  the  i 
legends  concerning  their  birth.  In  Crete  there  was  even  a  ^ 
story  of  the  death  of  Zeus,  his  tomb  being  pointed  out;  and, 
further,  the  fact  that  the  gods  were  believed  to  sustain  their  “ 
existence  by  means  of  nectar  and  ambrosia,  is  sufficient  proof 
of  their  being  usually  deemed  subject  to  the  infirmities  of  ' 
age.  Being  immortal,  they  were  next,  as  a  consequence,  | 
supposed  to  be  omnipotent  and  omniscient.  Their  physical  J 


INTRODUCTION, 


3 


s  strength  was  extraordinary,  the  earth  shaking  sometimes 
!  under  their  tread.  Whatever  they  did  was  done  speedily. 

They  moved  through  space  almost  without  the  loss  of  a 
I  moment  of  time.  They  knew  all  things,  saw  and  heard  all 
t  things  with  rare  exceptions.  They  were  wise,  and  commu- 
;  nicated  their  wisdom  to  men.  They  had  a  most  strict  sense 
I  of  justice,  punished  crime  rigorously,  and  rewarded  noble 
i  actions,  though  it  is  true  that  they  were  less  conspicuous  for 
I  the  latter.  Their  punishments  came  quickly,  as  a  rule;  but 
!  even  if  late,  even  if  not  till  the  second  generation,  still  they 
I  came  without  fail.  The  sinner  who  escaped  retribution  in 
'  this  life  was  sure  to  obtain  it  in  the  lower  world;  while  the 
j  good  who  died  unrewarded  enjoyed  the  fruit  of  their  good 
;  actions  in  the  next  life.  To  many  this  did  not  appear  a 
:  satisfactory  way  of  managing  human  affairs,  and  hence  there 
frequently  arose  doubts  as  to  the  absolute  justice  of  the  gods 
and  even  the  sanctity  of  their  lives.  These  doubts  were 
reflected  in  stories,  which,  to  the  indignation  of  men  like  the 
poet  Pindar,  represented  this  or  that  one  of  the  gods  as 
guilty  of  some  offence  or  other,  such  as  they  were  believed 
to  punish.  Philosophers  endeavored  to  explain  these  stories, 
some  as  mere  fictions  of  the  brain,  others  as  allegories  under 
which  lay  a  profound  meaning.  But  the  mass  of  the  people 
accepted  them  as  they  came,  and  nevertheless  believed  in  the 
perfect  sanctity  of  the  gods,  being  satisfied  that  human  wick¬ 
edness  was  detested  and  punished  by  them. 

Whether  the  gods  were  supposed  to  love  the  whole  of 
mankind,  or  only  such  as  led  good  lives,  is  not  certain.  It 
would  seem,  however,  from  the  universal  practice  of  offering 
sacrifice  and  expiation  on  the  occasion  of  any  wrong,  that 
they  were  believed  to  be  endowed  with  some  deep  feeling  of 
general  love,  which  even  sinners  could  touch  by  means  of 
atonement.  At  all  events  they  were  merciful.  They  hated 
excessive  prosperity  among  individual  men,  and  would  on 
such  occasions  exercise  a  Satanic  power  of  leading  them  into 
sin.  They  implanted  unwritten  laws  of  right  and  wrong  in 


4 


IN  TROD  UCTION. 


the  human  breast.  Social  duties  and  engagements  were  under 
their  special  care,  as  were  also  the  legislative  measures  of 
states. 

There  were  tales  of  personal  visits  and  adventures  of  the 
gods  among  men,  taking  part  in  battles,  and  appearing  in 
dreams.  They  werp  conceived  to  possess  the  form  of  human 
beings,  and  to  be,  like  men,  subject  to  love  and  pain,  but 
always  characterized  by  the  highest  qualities  and  grandest 
form  that  could  be  imagined.  To  produce  statues  of  them 
that  would  equal  this  high  ideal  was  the  chief  ambition  of 
artists;  and  in  presence  of  statues  in  which  success  had  been 
attained,  the  popular  mind  felt  an  awe  as  if  in  some  way  the 
'  deity  were  near.  But  while  this  was  the  case  with  regard 
to  the  renowned  examples  of  art,  such  as  the  statue  of  Zeus 
at  Olympia,  by  Phidias,  it  was  equally  true  with  regard  to 
those  very  ancient  rude  figures  of  deities  which  were  believed 
to  have  fallen  from  heaven,  and  were  on  that  account  most 
carefully  preserved  in  temples,  the  removal  or  loss  of  such  a 
figure  being  considered  an  equivalent  to  the  loss  of  the  favor 
of  the  deity  whose  image  it  was.  This  was  idolatry.  At  the 
same  time,  owing  to  the  vast  number  of  beautiful  and  grand 
statues  of  gods,  there  gradually  arose  a  feeling  of  the  deifi¬ 
cation  of  man  and  a  struggle  to  become  more  and  more  like 
these  beings  of  nobler  human  form  and  divine  presence.  For 
it  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  having  gods  possessed  of 
human  form  that  mankind  can  look  up  to  them  with  the  feel¬ 
ing  of  having  something  in  common,  and  the  assurance  of 
pity  and  favor.  This  was  a  powerful  element  in  the  Greek 
religion,  and  led  more  than  any  other  to  the  extraordinary 
piety  of  the  Greek  race,  in  spite  of  all  the  awkward  stories 
which  we  are  accustomed  to  ridicule. 

It  would  seem  that  the  gods  were  not  looked  on,  at  any 
rate  popularly,  as  having  created  the  world.  Perhaps  the 
mass  of  the  people  cared  nothing  for  speculation  as  to  the 
origin  of  what  actually  existed,  their  chief  thoughts  being 
concentrated  in  the  changes  that  took  place  in  what  existed 


INTRODUCTION. 


5 


and  directly  affected  their  interests.  In  this  spirit  they 
looked  on  the  gods  as  only  maintaining  and  preserving  exist¬ 
ing  order  and  system  of  things  according  to  their  divine  wis¬ 
dom.  Hence  it  was  that  the  Greeks  never  arrived  at  the 
idea  of  one  absolute  eternal  God,  though  they  very  nearly 
approached  that  idea  in  the  case  of  Zeus,  who  occasionally 
exercised  control  or  sovereignty  over  the  other  gods  who  pre¬ 
sided  in  particular  departments  in  the  management  of  the 
world.  Their  natural  tendency  to  polytheism  may  have  been 
further  aggravated  by  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  their 
early  history  as  a  race.  It  has  been  suggested  with  much 
plausibility  that  a  number  of  their  deities,  as  Dione,  Hera, 
Gaea,  and  Demeter,  resemble  each  other  so  much  as  to  war¬ 
rant  the  reasonableness  of  the  conclusion  that  their  separate 
existence  in  the  mythology  was  due  to  a  coalescence  at  some 
remote  early  time  of  distinct  tribes  of  the  Greek  race,  each 
possessing  beforehand  a  god  or  gods  of  their  own,  with  sepa¬ 
rate  names  and  slightly  different  attributes,  though  in  the 
main  capable  of  identification  and  a  common  worship.  It  is 
probable  that,  in  consequence  of  such  amalgamation,  some  of 
the  earliest  gods  have  disappeared  altogether ;  while  others, 
who  in  after  times,  as  in  the  case  of  Dione,  held  subordinate 
positions,  may  have  originally  been  deities  of  the  first  order. 

At  the  time  with  which  we  are  here  concerned,  the  Greek 
nation  inhabited  the  country  still  known  by  the  name  of 
Greece,  though  its  present  population  has  small  claim  to  be 
descendants  of  the  ancient  race.  It  was  spread  also  in  col¬ 
onies  over  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago  and  Mediterranean, 
along  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor  and  the  Black  Sea,  in  the 
Crimea,  on  the  north  coast  of  Africa,  and  on  the  south  coast 
of  France.  In  many  of  its  features  the  mainland  of  Greece 
may  be  compared  with  England,  both  having  the  same  com¬ 
paratively  vast  extent  of  sea  coast,  very  few  parts  of  the 
country  being  out  of  sight  of  the  sea.  Both  are  well^  sup¬ 
plied  with  mountains  that  invigorate  the  climate  and  stir  the 
spirit  of  adventure.  In  both  cases  it  may  be  that  this  prox- 


6 


INTRODUCTION. 


imity  of  the  greater  part  of  the  population  to  the  sea,  with 
its  horizon  tempting  young  minds  to  penetrate  beyond  its 
ever-receding  line,  was  the  main  cause  of  the  general  desire 
of  commerce  and  distant  colonization.  At  any  rate,  the  nat¬ 
ural  features  of  Greece,  her  beautiful  bays,  the  vivid  lines  of 
her  mountain  peaks,  her  delightful  groves  and  valleys,  made 
a  deep  impression  on  the  people;  and  colonists,  wherever  they 
spread,  retained  the  warmest  recollection  of  them;  of  snow- 
clad  Olympus,  where  the  gods  lived;  of  the  lovely  vale  of 
Tempe;  of  the  smiling  banks  of  the  Peneus;  of  the  sacred 
grove  at  Delphi;  of  peaceful  Arcadia,  with  its  pastoral  life; 
of  the  broad  plain  of  Olympia,  with  its  innumerable  temples, 
statues,  and  treasure-houses  of  costly  presents  to  the  gods; 
of  Corinth,  with  its  flag  that  ruled  the  sea;  of  Athens; 
of  Thebes,  with  its  ancient  citadel  founded  by  Cadmus;  of 
Eleusis,  and  many  other  places. 

We  propose  now  to  examine  more  particularly  the  religious 
belief  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  with  the  view  of  prepar¬ 
ing  the  way  for  the  descriptions  that  follow  of  the  gods  indi¬ 
vidually.  But  first  of  all  let  us  explain  the  meaning  of  the 
word  mythology.’^  According  to  its  derivation  from  the 
Greek  mythos,  a  tale,  and  logos,  an  account,  it  would  mean 
an  account  of  tales, the  tales  in  this  case  being  confined 
to  the  origin,  character,  and  functions  of  the  ancient  gods,  to 
the  origin  of  mankind,  and  the  primitive  condition  of  the 
visible  world.  To  understand  these  stories  we  must  try  to 
understand  the  circumstances  under  which  they  were  in¬ 
vented,  and  must  endeavor  to  comprehend  the  condition  and 
circumstances  of  a  nation  in  the  early  stage  of  its  existence. 
For  this  purpose  we  can  compare  the  early  tales  relating  to 
the  gods  of  other  nations,  of  the  Indian  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  German  on  the  other;  or  we  may  also  compare  the 
condition  of  races  at  present  in  an  uncivilized  state.  From 
these  sources  it  would  seem  that  the  youth  of  a  nation,  like 
that  of  an  individual,  is  the  period  at  which  the  activity  of 
imagination  and  fancy  is  greatest  in  proportion  as  knowledge 


INTRODUCTION. 


7 


Js  least.  The  mystery  of  surrounding  nature  strikes  forcibly 
on  the  mind,  its  phenomena  on  the  senses.  There  is  a  feel¬ 
ing  of  alarm  when  thunder  crashes  on  the  ear,  of  gladness  in 
the  warm  light  of  day,  of  terror  in  the  darkness  of  night, 
and  of  a  strange  dread  at  the  darkness  of  death.  The  acci¬ 
dents  of  daily  life  bind  men  together,  and  repel  the  rest  of 
the  animal  creation,  over  which  the  human  superiority  soon 
becomes  known.  Men  learn  to  know  each  other  when  as 
yet  they  know  nothing  else.  They  know  their  own  passions 
and  instincts.  They  measure  everything  by  themselves,  by 
feet,  paces,  palms,  and  ells;  and  when  they  seek  to  fathom  or 
measure  the  cause  of  the  phenomena  of  nature  they  have 
no  standard  to  employ  at  hand,  except  themselves.  They 
might,  it  is  true,  imagine  the  cause  of  the  thunder  under  the 
form  of  a  great  invisible  lion;  but  in  that  case  they  could 
not  commune  with  and  implore  the  thunderer  for  pity,  as 
they  are  moved  to  do.  He  must,  therefore,  be  conceived  as 
fashioned  like  a  man,  endowed  with  the  highest  imaginable 
qualities  of  a  man.  As  knowledge  and  civilization  advance, 
those  qualities  become  higher  and  higher.  It  seems  probable 
that  the  first  phenomena  that  appealed  to  the  mind  were  those 
of  the  change  of  weather,  of  seasons,  the  revolving  day  and 
the  revolving  year.  At  any  rate,  the  earliest  deities,  as  well 
as  we  can  trace  them,  appear  to  be  those  who  presided  over 
the  movements  of  the  celestial  sphere. 

We  seem  to  recognize  the  influence  of  such  phenomena  in 
the  chief  characteristics  of  mankind  in  a  primitive  stage  of 
existence — the  sense  of  order  and  regularity,  the  feeling  of 
fatality,  the  conviction  that  whatever  temporary  disturbances 
might  arise,  the  course  of  human  life  obeyed  some  fixed  law, 
coming  with  bright  light,  and  departing  in  darkness,  but 
only  to  commence  another  day  of  happy  life  elsewhere.  We 
know  that  the  name  of  the  highest  god  of  the  ancients  signi¬ 
fied  the  light  of  the  world,^’  in  a  literal  sense.  In  time,  as 
the  perceptive  faculties  expanded  and  the  wants  of  men  mul¬ 
tiplied,  the  other  phenomena  of  the  world  became  the  subject  of 


8 


INTRODUCTION. 


inquiry,  and  were,  as  usual,  ascribed  to  the  direct  influence  of 
deities.  The  singular  part,  however,  of  this  process  of  in¬ 
venting  deities  is,  that  having,  at  the  commencement,  obtained 
one  great  powerful  god,  they  did  not  simply  extend  his  func¬ 
tions  to  all  the  departments  of  nature,  instead  of  finding  a 
new  god  to  preside  over  each.  It  may  be  that  the  apparent 
conflict  frequently  observed  between  the  elements  of  nature 
was  hostile  to  such  an  idea,  while  on  the  contrary  nothing 
was  more  readily  imaginable  than  a  quarrel  among  different 
gods  as  the  cause  of  such  phenomena.  By  a  similar  process 
the  combination  of  different  elements,  as,  for  example, 
warmth  and  moisture,  was  appropriately  described  from  the 
human  point  of  view  as  a  prolific  union  or  marriage  of  two 
deities.  The  sun  and  moon  were  called  brother  and  sister. 

Another  opinion,  somewhat  at  variance  with  this,  is,  that 
the  primitive  stage  of  all  religions  is  a  universal  belief  in  one 
great  god — such  a  belief,  it  is  said,  being  as  natural  to  man 
as  the  use  of  his  arms  and  legs.  But  this  earliest  and  pure 
form  of  belief  became,  they  say,  in  course  of  time  debased 
into  a  belief  in  the  existence  of  many  gods,  originating  in 
such  a  method  of  explaining  the  phenomena  of  nature  as  we 
have  described. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  oldest  religious  records  we  know 
of — the  V^edas — speak  of  hosts  of  divine  beings:  while  in 
the  primitive  religion  of  the  American  Indians  the  Great 
Spirit  is  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  lesser  spirits,  who  repre¬ 
sent  the  various  phenomena  of  nature.  It  would  seem  that 
when  the  notion  of  one  god  did  arise,  it  was  of  the  one  true 
God  as  opposed  to  the  other  and  false  gods,  and  this  did  not 
take  place  till  a  high  stage  of  civilization  was  reached.  In 
the  best  times  of  Greece,  no  doubt,  thinking  men  acknowl¬ 
edged  but  one  supreme  being,  and  looked  on  the  crowd  of 
other  gods  as  merely  his  servants,  and  in  no  sense  really 
different  from  our  idea  of  angels. 

O 

In  due  time  the  religion  of  the  ancients  became  a  polythe¬ 
ism  on  a  very  extensive  scale;  every  phase  of  nature,  sky, 


INTRODUCTION, 


9 


sea,  and  earth,  every  phase  of  human  life,  its  habits,  accidents, 
tand  impulses,  being  provided  with  a  special  guardian  and 
;  controlling  deity.  In  all  the  varying  circumstances  of  life 
I  men  turned  to  one  or  other  of  these  divine  persons  in  grati¬ 
tude  or  for  help.  Temples,  sanctuaries,  altars,  were  erected 
[to  them  everywhere,  one  being  worshipped  with  special  favor 
here,  and  another  there;  one  with  special  favor  at  one  season 
of  the  year,  another  at  another  season.  Many  of  them  were 
only  known  and  worshipped  in  particular  localities;  as,  for 
instance,  marine  deities  among  people  connected  with  the  sea. 
Others  belonged  to  particular  periods  of  the  national  his¬ 
tory.  This  limitation,  however,  with  regard  to  local  differ¬ 
ences,  applies  only  to  the  vast  number  of  minor  deities  whose 
names  and  attributes  have  come  down  to  our  times;  for  a 
belief  in  the  superior  order  of  gods  was  the  common  property 
of  the  whole  nation,  whether  learned  or  unlearned,  and  of 
whatever  occupation.  The  mysteries  of  Eleusis  united  the 
people  in  honor  of  Demeter;  the  national  festivals  united 
them  in  honor  of  other  gods,  as  of  Zeus  at  Olympia.  Every 
one  believed  in  the  oracular  power  of  Apollo,  in  the  might  of 
Poseidon,  in  the  grim  character  of  Hades,  that  Hera  was  the 
wife  of  Zeus,  that  Athene  was  his  daughter,  that  Aphrodite 
was  the  goddess  of  love,  Artemis  of  the  moon,  and  Ares  the 
god  of  war. 

It  was  believed  that  these  higher  deities  inhabited  Olym-  J 
pus,  living  together  in  a  social  state  which  was  but  a  magni¬ 
fied  reflection  of  the  social  system  on  earth.  Quarrels,  love 
passages,  mutual  assistance,  and  such  incidents  as  characterize  | 
human  life,  were  ascribed  to  them.  It  must,  however,  be  j 
borne  in  mind  that  these  human  attributes,  and  the  stories  i 
connected  with  them,  whether  they  represent  admirable  qual-  j 
ities  or  the  reverse,  were  not  in  the  first  instance  ascribed  to 
the  gods  out  of  a  desire  to  make  their  resemblance  to  man 
more  complete,  but  were  the  natural  result  of  identifying  the  • 
gods  with  the  elements  of  nature  over  which  they  were  sup-  j 
posed  to  preside,  of  conceiving  and  representing  the  combi-  ! 


I 

\ 


I 


10 


INTRODUCTION. 


nation  or  conflict  of  elements  visible  in  nature  as  the  result 
of  the  combination  of  invisible  beings  of  human  form.  In 
later  times  of  higher  civilization  and  greater  refinement,  when 
the  origin  of  the  gods  as  personifications  of  natural  phenom¬ 
ena  was  lost  sight  of,  many  of  these  stories  came  to  be  viewed 
as  disgraceful,  and  by  being  made  the  subject  of  public  ridi¬ 
cule  in  plays  tended  largely  to  uproot  the  general  faith  in  the 
gods.  Philosophers  attempted  to  explain  them  as  allegories. 
Others,  who  did  not  themselves  see  their  way  to  believing 
them,  yet  advised  that  the  popular  faith  in  them  should  not 
be  disturbed.  But  we  who  live  in  other  times,  having  no 
need  of  a  religion  that  has  long  since  passed  away,  and  desir¬ 
ing  only  to  trace  its  origin  and  the  source  of  its  long  and 
deep  influence  on  a  great  nation,  may  look  at  them  in  a 
calmer  mood.  It  is  our  part  to  admire  as  far  as  possible, 
and  not  to  condemn  without  first  taking  into  account  every 
extenuating  circumstance. 

Turning  now  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies  by  which  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  expressed  their  belief  in  and  entire  de¬ 
pendence  on  the  gods,  we  would  call  attention  first  to  the 
offering  of  sacrifices.  These  were  of  two  kinds,  one  consist¬ 
ing  of  fruits,  cakes,  and  wine;  the  other  of  animals,  which 
were  led  to  the  altar  decked  with  garlands  and  ribbons,  after 
various  ceremonies  slain,  and  part  of  the  flesh  consumed  upon 
the  altar  fire,  the  smell  of  it  being  supposed  to  rise  agreeably 
to  the  gods.  It  was  necessary  that  the  animals  selected  for 
this  purpose  should  be  spotless  and  healthy,  that  the  persons 
participating  in  the  ceremony  should  be  cleanly  in  person  and 
in  mind;  for  no  costliness  could  make  the  offering  of  a  sinner 
acceptable  to  the  gods.  The  color,  age,  and  sex  of  the  animal 
were  determined  by  the  feeling  of  appropriateness  to  the 
deity  for  whom  it  was  slain.  The  time  chosen  for  the  cere¬ 
mony  was  the  morning  in  the  case  of  the  gods  of  heaven,  the 
evening  in  the  case  of  the  gods  of  the  lower  world.  To  these 
latter  deities  the  victim  was  always  offered  entire,  as  it  was 
not  deemed  possible  that  they  could  share  in  a  feast  in  com- 


INTRODUCTION. 


11 


pany  with  men.  The  fire  on  the  altar  was  considered  holy, 
and  special  care  was  taken  that  it  should  be  fed  with  wood 
that  gave  a  pure  flame.  In  early  times  it  would  seem  that 
even  human  beings  were  offered  as  sacrifices  to  certain  gods, 
the  victims  in  such  cases  being  occasionally,  to  judge  from  the 
instance  of  Iphigenia,  closely  connected  by  ties  of  blood  and 
affection  with  the  person  required  to  make  the  sacrifice.  But 
these  were,  perhaps,  mostly  cases  in  which  the  will  of  the 
gods  was  specially  communicated  through  a  seer  or  prophet; 
whereas  sacrifice  generally  was  a  spontaneous  gift  to  the  gods, 
either  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  gratitude  for  the  bless¬ 
ings  bestowed  by  them,  or  of  atoning  for  some  sin  of  which 
the  person  sacrificing  was  conscious.  Sacrifices  were  not  pre¬ 
sented  intermittently  and  at  mere  pleasure,  but  regularly 
when  occasion  offered,  as  at  harvest  time,  when  the  fruits  of 
the  fields  and  garden  were  gathered  in.  The  herdsman  sac¬ 
rificed  the  firstlings  of  his  flock,  the  merchant  gave  part  of 
his  gain,  and  the  soldier  a  share  of  his  booty  in  war.  The 
gods  to  whom  all  prosperity  and  worldly  blessings  were  due 
expected  such  offerings,  it  was  thought,  and  punished  every 
instance  of  neglect. 

There  was,  however,  another  class  of  sacrifices,  springing 
from  a  different  motive,  and  with  a  different  object  in  view; 
for  example,  to  obtain  by  means  of  an  examination  of  the 
entrails  of  an  animal  an  augury  as  to  the  issue  of  some  enter¬ 
prise — a  form  of  sacrifice  which  was  held  of  great  importance 
at  the  commencement  of  a  battle;  or  to  sanctify  the  ratifica¬ 
tion  of  a  treaty,  or  some  important  bargain  between  man  and 
man;  or  to  obtain  purification  for  some  crime.  In  this  last 
case  it  was  supposed  that  the  victim  took  the  sin  upon  its 
own  head,  and  that  both  perished  together.  Hence  no  part 
of  such  victims  was  eaten. 

How  the  gods  were  supposed  to  partake  of  the  share  of 
sacrifices  allotted  to  them  is  not  always  clear,  though  in  the 
case  of  burnt  offerings  they  may  be  imagined  to  have  been 
satisfied  with  the  smell  that  rose  in  the  air,  and  in  the  case 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 


of  libations  with  the  aroma  of  the  wine.  With  regard  to 
the  sacrifices  in  honor  of  the  deities  of  the  lower  world,  it 
seems  to  have  been  the  belief  that  the  blood  of  the  victim, 
if  poured  into  a  hole  in  the  ground,  would  sink  down  to 
them,  and  be  acceptably  received.  In  the  same  hole,  or  near 
by,  were  buried  the  ashes  that  remained  on  the  altar  on  which 
the  victim  was  consumed.  The  portions  assigned  to  marine 
or  river  deities  were  sunk  in  deep  water. 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  priests  to  perform  the  ceremony  of 
offering  up  the  sacrifices  brought  to  the  gods  in  whose  service 
they  were.  The  first  part  of  the  ceremony  was  to  take  a 
basket  containing  the  sacrificial  knife,  some  corn,  and  perhaps 
also  flowers,  and  to  pass  it,  along  with  a  vessel  containing 
water,  round  the  altar  from  left  to  right.  The  water  was 
next  purified  by  dipping  a  brand  from  the  altar  in  it.  There¬ 
upon  the  people  who  had  brought  the  sacrifice  sprinkled  them¬ 
selves  and  the  altar,  and  taking  a  handful  of  corn  from  the 
basket,  scattered  it  on  the  head  of  the  victim  as  it  approached. 
The  priest  then,  after  shearing  a  lock  of  hair  from  the  head 
of  the  animal,  and  distributing  it  among  the  bystanders  to  be 
thrown  on  the  altar  fire,  commanded  silence,  prayed  that  the 
offering  might  be  acceptable  to  the  god,  and  slew  the  victim. 
The  blood,  except  in  the  case  of  the  deities  of  the  lower 
world,  as  has  been  observed,  and  the  entrails,  were  mixed 
with  wheat,  wine,  and  incense,  and  placed  upon  the  fire. 

The  strong  feelings  of  piety,  gratitude,  dependence,  or  con¬ 
sciousness  of  guilt,  which  gave  rise  to  such  offerings,  gave 
rise  also  to  a  universal  habit  of  prayer,  and  a  desire  to  fre¬ 
quent  on  all  possible  occasions  the  temples  and  altars  of  the 
gods.  Morning  and  evening,  at  the  beginning  of  meals,  at 
the  opening  of  business  in  the  courts  of  justice  and  public 
assemblies,  a  prayer  was  offered  up,  now  to  one  god,  now  to 
another,  or,  if  no  particular  deity  appeared  to  be  an  appro¬ 
priate  guardian  for  the  time  and  occasion,  to  the  gods  gener¬ 
ally.  There  was  this  peculiarity  in  the  Greek  prayers,  which 
we  must  not  omit  to  mention,  that  after  calling  on  a  deity  by 


IN  TROD  UCTION. 


13 


his  usual  name  a  clause  was  added  to  save  the  suppliant  from 
;  any  possible  displeasure  of  the  deity  at  the  name  employed; 

'  for  how  could  man  know  the  true  name  of  a  god?  We  have 
an  example  of  such  a  prayer  in  Aeschylus  :  Zeus,  whoever 
‘  thou  art,  and  by  whatever  name  it  please  thee  to  be  named, 

!  I  call  on  thee  and  pray.’’  In  praying  to  the  gods  above  it 
1  was  the  custom  of  the  Greeks  to  lift  the  hands  and  turn  the 
i  face  toward  the  east;  of  the  Romans,  to  turn  toward  the 
north.  A  suppliant  of  the  sea  gods  stretched  out  his  hands 
;  toward  the  sea,  and  a  suppliant  of  the  gods  of  the  lower 
world  beat  the  earth  with  his  hands.  When  a  prayer  was 
offered  up  in  a  temple  the  rule  was  to  turn  toward  the  sacred 
;  image.  In  cases  of  great  distress  the  suppliant  would  carry 
an  olive  branch,  or  a  rod  with  wool  twined  round  it,  throw 
himself  on  the  ground  before  the  sacred  image,  and  embrace 
its  feet.  Pythagoras,  the  philosopher,  taught  his  follow¬ 
ers  to  pray  with  a  loud  voice;  but  loud  prayers  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  customary.  On  the  contrary,  it  hap¬ 
pened  not  unfrequently  that  the  prayers  were  written  on 
tablets,  sealed,  and  deposited  beside  the  image  of  the  god, 
that  no  human  being  might  be  aware  of  the  request  contained 
in  them.  Here  is  a  specimen  of  what  seems  to  have  been 
the  usual  form  :  Zeus,  our  lord,  give  unto  us  whatever  is 
good,  whether  we  ask  it  of  thee  or  not;  whatever  is  evil  keep 
far  from  us,  even  if  we  ask  it  of  thee.” 

Besides  sacrifice  and  prayer  there  is  still  another  class  of 
ceremonies,  in  which  we  recognize  the  deep  piety  of  the 
Greeks  :  first,  the  custom  of  consulting  oracles,  especially 
that  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  in  times  of  great  perplexity;  and 
secondly,  the  universal  practice,  in  cases  of  less  or  more  sud¬ 
den  emergency,  of  trying  to  interpret  the  will  of  the  gods 
by  means  of  augury  or  divination  in  a  vast  variety  of  ways. 
Sometimes  the  augury  was  taken  from  the  direction  in  which 
birds  were  observed  to  fly  overhead.  If  to  the  right  of  the 
augur,  who  stood  with  his  face  to  the  north,  good  luck  would 
attend  the  enterprise  in  question;  if  to  the  left,  the  reverse. 


14 


INTRODUCTION. 


At  other  times  an  animal  was  slain,  and  its  entrails  carefully  T 
examined,  the  propitiousness  of  the  gods  being  supposed  to  I 
depend  on  the  healthy  and  normal  condition  of  these  parts,  j 
But  the  gods  were  also  believed  to  communicate  their  will  to  ’ 
men  in  dreams,  by  sending  thunder  and  lightning,  comets, 
meteors,  eclipses,  earthquakes,  prodigies  in  nature,  and  the 
thousand  unexpected  incidents  that  occur  to  men.  As  few  j' 
persons  were  able  to  interpret  the  bearing  of  these  signs  and  | 
wonders,  there  was  employment  for  a  large  class  of  people  f 
who  made  this  their  particular  business.  ^ 

Finally,  we  must  not  forget  to  mention  as  a  proof  of  the  , 
wide-spread  religious  feelings  of  the  Greeks  the  national  fes¬ 
tivals,  or  games,  as  they  are  called,  established  and  main-  J 
tained  in  honor  of  certain  gods.  While  these  festivals  were 
being  celebrated  it  was  necessary  to  suspend  whatever  war 
might  be  going  on  between  separate  states,  and  to  permit  - 
visitors  to  pass  unmolested  even  through  hostile  territory.  ' 
These  festivals  were  four  in  number:  the  OlympiaUj  Pythian, 
Nemean,  and  Isthmian.  j! 

The  first  mentioned  was  held  in  honor  of  Zeus,  on  the 
plain  of  Olympia,  in  Elis.  It  occurred  every  fifth  year,  and  t|j 
the  usual  method  of  reckoning  time  was  according  to  its  re- 
occurrence,  by  Olympiads,  as  we  say.  The  games  with  which  ? 
it  was  celebrated  consisted  of  running,  wrestling,  boxing,  a  J 
combination  of  the  two  latter,  horse-racing, either  with  chariots  I 
or  only  with  riders.  The  prize  of  victory  was  simply  a  ■ 
wreath  of  olive,  and  yet  athletes  trained  themselves  labori-  I 
ously  and  travelled  great  distances  to  compete  for  it.  Kings 
sent  their  horses  to  run  in  the  races,  and  counted  a  vie-  |i 
tory  among  the  highest  honors  of  their  lives.  The  fellow-  2 
townsmen  of  a  victorious  athlete  would  raise  a  statue  in  his 
honor.  Occasionally  writers,  as  we  are  told  of  Herodotus,  I 
took  this  occasion  of  a  vast  assemblage  of  their  countrymen  f 
to  read  to  them  part  of  their  writings.  The  Pythian  games  I 
were  held  in  honor  of  Apollo,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Delphi,  1 
and  occurred  every  fifth  year,  there  being  competition  in  ■ 


INTRODVGTION. 


15 


music  as  well  as  in  athletics.  The  prize  was  a  wreath  of  ) 
laurel.  At  the  Nemean  games^  which  were  held  in  honor  of 
Zeus,  the  prize  was  a  wreath  of  ivy.  /  The  Isthmian  games 
were  held  in  honor  of  Poseidon,  on  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth, 
and  occurred  every  third  year;  the  prize  was  a  wreath  of  pine. 

It  is  remarkable  and  surprising,  that  with  all  the  piety  and 
religious  ceremonies  of  the  ancients,  there  existed  among  them 
no  established  means  of  instruction  for  the  mass  of  the  peo¬ 
ple,  as  to  the  character  and  functions  of  the  gods  whom  they 
worshipped.  There  was,  indeed,  a  regular  priesthood,  whose  ! 
duty  it  was  to  conduct  the  public  ceremonies,  to  offer  up 
sacrifices,  and  to  perform  other  offices  peculiar  to  the  god  in 
whose  service  they  were.  But  there  their  duties  ceased. 
These  ceremonies  had  been  handed  down  from  time  imme¬ 
morial,  and  that  was  perhaps  sufficient  guarantee  of  their 
importance  to  make  the  ordinary  Greek  assiduous  in  his 
observance  of  them.  At  any  rate,  this  assiduity  is  not  trace¬ 
able  to  a  clear  and  explicit  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the 
gods  derived  from  public  instruction.  In  regard  to  that, 
whatever  unanimity  existed  was  unquestionably  due  in  the 
first  instance  to  the  influence  of  poets  like  Homer  and  Hesiod, 
and  in  the  second,  to  the  exertion  of  the  persons  connected 
with  the  oracle  at  Delphi.  The  effect  of  this  state  of  things 
was  a  great  amount  of  confusion  in  the  popular  mind,  and 
not  only  in  the  popular  mind  but  also  in  the  minds  of  men 
like  Socrates,  who  confessed  that  he  did  not  know  whether 
there  was  one  Aphrodite  or  two,  and  wondered  why  Zeus, 
who  was  believed  to  be  one  god,  had  so  many  names.  / 

The  preceding  remarks,  it  should  be  here  observed,  ap^y 
for  the  most  part  only  to  the  mythology  of  the  Greeks,  and  do 
not  extend  to  that  of  the  Romans,  except  so  far  as  they  refer 
to  the  most  primitive  class  of  myths,  such  as  those  concern¬ 
ing  the  origin  of  the  world.  For  the  practice  of  identifying 
the  mythologies  of  those  two  nations  has  no  foundation  in 
fact.  Both  races,  it  is  true,  belonged  to  one  and  the  same 
great  branch  of  the  human  family,  and  from  that  source 

Murray — 3 


16 


INTRODUCTION. 


derived  a  common  kernel  of  religious  belief.  But  before 
this  kernel  had  developed  far  the  two  nations  parted,  and 
formed  for  themselves  distinct  and  isolated  settlements  in 
Europe.  In  the  long  period  of  isolation  that  followed,  the 
common  seed  of  religious  belief  with  which  both  started 
grew  up,  was  propagated  under  quite  different  circumstances 
and  assumed  a  very  different  aspect.  The  Romans — in  the 
early  periods  of  their  history  a  pastoral,  agricultural,  simple, 
and  more  or  less  united  people — had  no  need  of  a  various 
multitude  of  deities,  such  as  the  Greeks  found  necessary, 
scattered  and  separated  as  they  were  into  a  variety  of  tribes 
with  a  variety  of  occupations. 

From  this,  among  other  casues,  it  happens  that  many,  even 
of  the  very  early  Greek  myths,  were  quite  foreign  to  the 
Romans.  To  this  class  belong,  for  instance,  the  myths  that 
describe  the  conflict  between  Uranus  and  his  sons:  Cronus 
devouring  his  children  to  escape,  as  he  thought,  being  de¬ 
throned  by  them,  and  Zeus  placing  his  father,  Cronus,  in 
durance  in  Tartarus.  No  less  strictly  peculiar  to  the  Greeks 
were  those  accounts  of  quarrels  among  the  gods,  wounds,  and 
occasionally  the  banishment  of  certain  gods  to  a  period  of 
service  on  earth.  To  these  we  may  add  the  carrying  off  of 
Persephone  by  Pluto,  and  several  other  stories.  With  regard 
to  the  ceremonies  which  accompanied  the  worship  of  certain 
gods,  we  observe  the  same  great  difference  between  the  two 
nations,  and  would  cite  as  an  example  the  wild  unrestrained 
conduct  of  those  who  took  part  in  the  festivals  of  Dionysus, 
remarking  that  when  in  later  times  of  luxury  a  festival  of 
this  kind  was  introduced  into  Italy  in  honor  of  Bacchus,  the 
Roman  equivalent  for  the  Greek  Dionysus  or  Bacchus,  the 
new  festival  was  forbidden,  and  those  who  took  part  in  it 
were  viewed  as  persons  of  unbridled  desires.  Nor  did  Mer¬ 
cury  ever  obtain  the  widespread  worship  and  honor  paid  to 
Hermes  in  Greece;  and  even  Saturnus,  in  spite  of  the  Roman 
poets,  was  a  very  different  god  from  the  Greek  Cronus. 

At  the  time  when  the  Roman  poets  began  to  write,  ^ ^Greece 


INTRODUCTION. 


17 


captured  was  leading  her  captor  captive/^  Greek  literature 
was  the  usual  means  of  education;  Greek  philosophy,  Greek 
art — everything  pertaining  to  the  Greeks — constituted  the 
principal  pursuit  of  educated  men.  Many  would  rather 
employ  the  Greek  than  their  own  language  in  writing. 
Poets,  constructing  their  poems  often  in  close  imitation  of 
Greek  models,  replaced  the  names  of  gods  that  occurred  in 
the  Greek  originals  by  names  of  native  deities  possessing  some 
similarity  of  character,  and  told  a  Greek  story  of  a  native 
Italian  god;  or,  failing  such,  employed  the  Greek  name  in  a 
Latin  form.  At  the  same  time  no  real  adaptation  or  coales¬ 
cence  of  the  two  religious  systems  ever  took  place.  The 
Roman  ceremonies  and  forms  of  worship  remained  for  the 
most  part  distinct  from  the  Greek,  and  peculiar  to  the  race. 
In  modern  times,  however,  the  literature  (especially  the 
poetry)  of  the  ancient  Romans  was  more  familarly  known 
than  the  facts  relating  to  their  ceremonies  and  forms  of  wor¬ 
ship.  It  was  more  early  and  familiarly  known  than  the 
literature  of  Greece,  and  instead  of  upon  the  latter,  the  mod- 
et’n  notions  of  Greek  mythology  were  founded  on  the  state¬ 
ments  of  the  Roman  poets.  Hence  arose  a  confusion  which 
our  own  poets,  especially  those  of  the  last  century,  only  made 
worse  confounded.  To  meet  this  confusion  we  shall  give  the 
accredited  Roman  equivalent  by  the  side  of  the  Greek  gods, 
throughout  our  descriptions,  and  point  out  as  far  as  possible 
the  differences  between  them. 

Thus  far  our  observations  have  been  confined  to  the  my¬ 
thology  and  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
especially  of  the  former.  We  have  had  very  little  to  say  of 
the  Romans,  because,  though  equal  perhaps  to  the  Greeks  in 
their  piety  and  trust  in  the  gods,  they  appear  to  have  been 
very  deficient  in  that  quality  of  imagination  which  could 
readily  invent  some  divine  personification  for  every  phenome¬ 
non  of  nature  that  struck  the  mind.  As,  however,  it  is  our 
intention  to  include  a  description,  even  if  very  brief,  of  the 
mythology  of  the  Indian  and  Teutonic  or  Germanic  races,  it 


fii) 


I 


18 


INTRODUCTION, 


may  be  well  to  call  attention  here  to  the  fact,  now  clearly 
ascertained,  that  these  races  are  sprung  from  the  same  com¬ 
mon  family  or  human  stock  to  which  the  Greeks  and  Eomans 
belonged,  and  that  at  least  certain  ideas  concerning  the  origin 
and  primitive  condition  of  the  world  are  common  to  the 
mythologies  of  them  all.  From  this  it  is  reasonable  to  con¬ 
clude  that  these  ideas  were  arrived  at  previous  to  the  separa¬ 
tion  of  this  great  Indo-Germanic  family,  as  it  is  called,  and 
its  development  into  distinct  and  isolated  nations,  as  we  find 
it  at  the  dawn  of  historical  times.  From  the  Ganges  to 
Iceland  we  meet  with  traces  of  a  common  early  belief  that 
the  wild  features  of  the  earth  had  been  produced  by  some 
long  past  convulsive  conflict  of  Titanic  beings,  whom,  though 
invisible,  the  stormy  elements  of  nature  still  obeyed.  We 
find  that  everywhere,  within  these  limits  of  space  and  time, 
there  existed  among  men  the  same  sensitiveness  to  the  phe¬ 
nomena  of  nature— to  light  and  darkness,  to  heat  and  cold, 
to  rain  and  drought,  to  storms  and  peacefulness — and  the 
same  readiness  and  power  of  imagining  invisible  beings  of 
human  form,  but  loftier  attributes,  as  the  cause  of  these  phe¬ 
nomena.  To  these  beings  actions  and  habits  of  life  were 
ascribed,  such  as  were  suggested  by  the  phenomena  which  they 
were  supposed  to  control;  and  in  no  case,  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind,  was  any  feeling  of  morality  or  immorality  intended  to 
be  conveyed.  For  instance,  when  we  find  the  natural  process 
by  which  the  clouds  pour  out  their  rain  upon  the  earth,  and 
are  again  filled  from  the  sea,  described  as  Hermes  (the  god  of 
raix)  stealing  the  cattle  (clouds)  of  Apollo,  we  cannot  attach 
to  the  story  the  idea  of  criminality  which  it  at  first  suggests. 
Similar  interpretations  we  must  be  prepared  to  see  throughout 
the  mythologies  of  the  Indo-Germanic  races. 

It  may  now  be  asked,  from  what  source  is  this  knowledge 
derived  of  the  mythology  of  the  ancients?  To  this  we 
the  works  of  ancient  writers,  poets,  historians, 
philosophers,  and  others,  to  whom  the  religious  belief  of  their 
countrymen  was  a  subject  of  great  importance,  and  whose 


INTRODUCTION. 


19 


writings  have  survived  to  our  times;  in  the  second  place, 
from  the  representations  of  gods  and  mythological  scenes  on 
the  immense  number  of  ancient  works  of  art  that  still  exist, 
whether  in  the  form  of  statues  in  marble  and  bronze,  painted 
vases,  engraved  gems,  or  coins.  These  are  the  sources  of 
our  knowledge,  and  without  becoming  more  or  less  familiar 
with  them  it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  understand  fully  the 
spirit  of  these  ancient  myths;  and  contrariwise,  to  be  able  to 
appreciate  at  its  real  worth  the  beauty  of  ancient  works, 
whether  in  literature  or  in  art,  it  is  necessary  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  mythology  and  the  religious  spirit  which 
guided  their  authors;  and  if  that  be  not  sufficient  temptation 
to  follow  our  descriptions  of  the  various  deities  and  heroes 
of  ancient  times,  we  can  still  appeal  to  this — that  a  great  part 
of  our  grandest  modern  poetry  and  works  of  art  can  only  be 
intelligible  to  those  who  know  the  ancient  mythology. 

Drawing  near,  as  we  are  now,  to  the  details  of  our  sub¬ 
ject,  we  become  anxious  to  guard  against  all  feelings  of  im¬ 
propriety  in  what  we  may  have  occasionally  to  relate.  We 
would,  therefore,  remind  the  reader  of  the  principles  of  inter¬ 
pretation  which  we  have  endeavored  to  explain  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  pages.  We  would  also  repeat  that  we  have  here  to 
do  with  a  system  of  religious  belief  which,  whatever  its 
apparent  or  real  shortcomings  may  have  been,  exercised  enor¬ 
mous  influence  on  the  education  of  at  least  two  of  the  most 
civilized  nations  of  the  earth. 


Olympus. 

THE  CREATION  OF  THE  WORLD. 


In  thinking  of  the  origin  of  the  world  in  which  they  lived, 
the  Greeks  for  the  most  part,  it  would  appear,  were  satisfied 
with  the  explanation  given  by  the  poet  Hesiod — that  in  the 
beginning  the  world  was  a  great  shapeless  mass  or  chaos,  out 
of  which  was  fashioned  first  the  vspirit  of  love,  Eros  (Cupid), 
and  the  broad-chested  earth,  Gaea;  then  Erebus,  darkness, 
and  Nox,  night.  From  a  union  of  the  two  latter  sprang 
Aether,  the  clear  sky,  and  Hemera,  day.  The  earth,  by 
virtue  of  the  power  by  which  it  was  fashioned,  produced  in 
turn,  Uranus,  the  firmament  which  covered  her  with  its 
vault  of  brass,  as  the  poets  called  it,  to  describe  its  appear¬ 
ance  of  eternal  duration,  the  mountains,  and  Pontus,  the 
unfruitful  sea.  Thereupon  Eros,  the  oldest  and  at  the  same 
time  the  youngest  of  the  gods,  began  to  agitate  the  earth  and 
all  things  on  it,  bringing  them  together,  and  making  pairs 
of  them.  First  in  importance  of  these  pairs  were  Uranus 
and  Gaea,  heaven  and  earth,  who  peopled  the  earth  with  a 
host  of  beings,  Titans,  Giants,  and  Cyclopes,  of  far  greater 

physical  frame  and  energy  than  the  races  who  succeeded  them, 
(20) 


THE  CREATION  OF  THE  WORLD. 


21 


It  is  a  beautiful  idea,  that  of  love  making  order  out  of 
chaos,  bringing  opposite  elements  together,  and  preparing  a 
world  to  receive  mankind. 

Another  apparently  older,  and  certainly  obscure  notion,  is 
that  expressed  by  Homer,  which  ascribes  the  origin  of  the 
world  to  Oceanus,  the  ocean.  How  the  earth  and  heavens 
sprang  from  him,  or  whether  they  were  conceived  as  co¬ 
existing  with  him  from  the  beginning,  we  are  not  told.  The 
numerous  ancient  stories,  however,  concerning  floods,  after 


Gaea. 


which  new  generations  of  men  sprang  up,  and  the  fact  that 
the  innumerable  fertilizing  rivers  and  streams  of  the  earth 
were  believed  to  come  from  the  ocean,  as  they  were  seen  to 
return  to  it,  and  that  all  the  river  gods  were  accounted  the 
offspring  of  Oceanus,  suggest  the  prevalence  of  such  a  form 
of  belief  with  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  world  in  times  pre¬ 
vious  to  Hesiod.  We  are  told  that  the  ocean  encircled  the 
earth  with  a  great  stream,  and  was  a  region  of  wonders  of 
all  kinds;  that  Oceanus  lived  there,  with  his  wife  Tethys; 


22 


THE  CREATION  OF  THE  WORLD. 


that  there  were  the  islands  of  the  blest,  the  gardens  of  the 
gods,  the  sources  of  the  nectar  and  ambrosia  on  which  the 
gods  lived.  Within  this  circle  of  water  the  earth  lay  spread 
out  like  a  disk  with  mountains  rising  from  it,  and  the  vault  of 
heaven  appearing  to  rest  on  its  outer  edge  all  around.  This 
outer  edge  was  supposed  to  be  slightly  raised,  so  that  the 
water  might  not  rush  in  and  overflow  the  land.  The  space 


Eros  of  Praxiteles. 


between  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  the  heavens  was  seen  to 
be  occupied  by  air  and  clouds,  and  above  the  clouds  was  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  pure  ether,  in  which  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars 
moved.  The  sun  rising  in  the  eastern  sky  in  the  morning, 
traversing  the  celestial  arch  during  the  day,  and  sinking  at 
evening  in  the  west,  was  thought  to  be  under  the  guidance  of 
a^  god  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  four  splendid  horses.  After 
sinking  into  Oceanus,  it  was  supposed  that  he  took  ship  and 


THE  CREATION  OF  THE  WORLD. 


23 


sailed  during  the  night  round  to  the  east,  so  as  to  be  ready 
to  begin  a  new  day. 

In  the  region  of  air  above  the  clouds  moved  the  higher 
order  of  gods;  and  when,  for  the  sake  of  council  or  inter¬ 
course  they  met  together,  the  meeting  place  was  the  summit 
of  one  of  those  lofty  mountains  whose  heads  were  hid  in  the  ^ 
clouds,  but  chief  of  all,  the  inaccessible  Olympus  in  Thessaly.  [ 
Kound  the  highest  point  of  it  was  the  palace  of  Zeus,  with  the 
throne  on  which  he  sat  in  majesty  to  receive  such  visits  as  ^ 
those  of  Thetis  (Iliad  i.  498)  when  she  came  to  plead  for  her 
son.  On  plateaus  or  in  ravines  lower  down  were  the  man¬ 
sions  of  the  other  gods,  provided,  as  was  thought,  with  the 
convenience  of  store-rooms,  stabling,  and  all  that  was  usual 
in  the  houses  of  princes  on  earth.  The  deities  who  thus 
inhabited  Olympus,  and  for  that  reason  were  styled  the 
Olympian  deities,  were  twelve  in  number.  We  do  not,  it  is 
true,  always  find  this  number  composed  of  the  same  gods, 
but  the  following  may  be  taken  as  having  been  the  most 
usual :  Zeus  (Jupiter),  Hera  (Juno),  Poseidon  (Neptune), 
Demeter  (Ceres),  Apollo,  Artemis  (Diana),  Hephaestus 
(Vulcan),  Pallas,  Athene  (Minerva),  Ares  (Mars),  Aphro¬ 
dite  (Venus),  Hermes  (Mercury),  and  Hestia  (Vesta). 
Though  allied  to  each  other  by  various  degrees  of  relation¬ 
ship,  and  worshipped  in  many  places  at  altars  dedicated  to 
them  as  a  united  body,  they  did  not  always  act  together  in 
harmony,  a  most  memorable  instance  of  their  discord  being 
that  (Iliad  viii.  13—27)  in  which  Zeus  threatened  to  hurl  the 
others  into  Tartarus,  and  challenged  them  to  move  him  from 
Olympus  by  letting  themselves  down  with  a  golden  chain 
and  pulling  with  all  their  might.  Should  they  try  it,  he  | 
said,  he  could  easily  draw  them  up  with  earth  and  sea  to  the  ; 
bargain,  fasten  the  chain  to  the  top  of  Olympus,  and  let  the 
whole  hang  in  mid  air.  Tire  name  of  Olympus  was  not 
confined  to  the  Thessalian  mountain,  though  it  may  have  had  ; 
the  earliest,  as  in  after  times  it  had  the  principal,  claim  to 
the  title,  but  was  applied  to  no  less  than  fourteen  mountains 


M 


24  the  creation  OF  THE  WORLD. 

ill  various  parts  of  the  Greek  world,  each  of  which  appears 
to  have  been  regarded  as  an  occasional  meeting  place,  if  not 
a  permanent  seat  of  the  gods.  Finally,  the  word  was  used 
to  designate  a  region  above  the  visible  sky,  from  which,  to  i 
express  its  height,  it  was  said  that  once  a  brazen  anvil  fell 
nine  days  and  nine  nights  before  it  reached  the  earth.  At  i 
an  equal  distance  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth  was  Tar-  I 
tarns,  a  vast  gloomy  space  walled  in  with  brass,  where  the  i 
Titans  lived  in  banishment. 

The  lower  order  of  deities,  having  naturally  no  place  in  j 
Olympus,  were  restricted  to  the  localities  on  earth  where  they  11 
exercised  their  powers— as,  for  instance,  the  Naiades,  or 
Nymphs  of  fountains,  to  the  neighborhood  of  fountains  and 
springs;  the  Oreades,  or  mountain  Nymphs,  to  the  moun-  i 
tains  and  hills;  and  the  Dryades,  or  Nymphs  of  trees,  to 
trees.  With  regard  to  the  place  of  residence  of  the  heroes 
or  semi-divine  beings  after  their  translation  from  earth,  there  ■ 
existed  considerable  variety  of  opinion,  of  which  we  shall 
afterward  have  occasion  to  speak. 

Ttepresentations  of  the  deities  assembled  in  Olympus  for  a  partic¬ 
ular  occasion  as  at  the  birth  of  Athene  from  the  head  of  her  father 
Zeus— occur  not  unfrequently  on  the  Greek  painted  vases.  This  was 
the  subject  chosen  by  Phidias  for  the  sculptures  in  one  of  the  pedi¬ 
ments  of  the  Parthenon  now  in  the  British  Museum.  The  loss,  how¬ 
ever,  of  many  of  the  figures  renders  it  impossible  to  say  now  who 
were  the  deities  he  selected,  or  whether  he  even  adhered  to  the  usual 
number  of  twelve.  At  one  end  of  the  pediment  the  sun  rises  in  his 
chariot  from  the  sea,  at  the  other  the  moon  rides  away.  The  event 
must,  therefore,  have  taken  place  at  the  break  of  day.  The  same  fact 
is  to  be  observed  in  the  scene  at  the  birth  of  Aphrodite,  in  presence 
of  the  assembled  deities,  with  which  Phidias  adorned  the  base  of  his 
statue  of  Zeus  at  Olympia,  and  of  which  we  have  still  the  description 
in  Pausanias  (v.  403).  At  one  end  was  the  Sun  stepping  into  his 
chariot,  next  to  him  Zeus  and  Hera,  then  Hephaestus  (?)  and  Charis, 
then  Hermes  and  Hestia.  In  the  centre  was  Eros  receiving  Aphro¬ 
dite  as  she  rises  from  the  sea,  and  Peitho  crowning  Aphrodite ;  then 
Apollo  and  Artemis,  next  Athene  and  Hercules,  then  Poseidon  and 
Amphitrite,  and  lastly  the  Moon  (Selene)  riding  away.  The  deities 
are  thus  grouped  in  pairs  of  male  and  female,  those  of  greater  impor-  ^ 
tance  being  toward  either  end  of  the  composition. 


Council  of  the  Gods, 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  OEDER. 


URANUS 

Is  a  personification  of  the  sky  as  the  ancients  saw  and  under¬ 
stood  its  phenomena,  and  with  him,  according  to  the  version 
of  mythology  usually  accepted  by  the  Greeks,  commences 
the  race  of  gods.  Next  succeeded  Cronus,  and  lastly,  Zeus 
(Jupiter).  With  regard  to  this  triple  succession  of  supreme 
rulers  of  the  world,  we  should  notice  the  different  and  pro¬ 
gressive  signification  of  their  three  names,  Uranus  signifying 
the  heavens  viewed  as  husband  of  the  earth,  and  by  his 
warmth  and  moisture  producing  life  and  vegetation  every¬ 
where  on  it;  Cronus,  his  successor,  being  the  god  of  harvest, 
who  also  ripened  and  matured  every  form  of  life;  while  in 
the  person  of  Zeus  (Jupiter),  god  of  the  light  of  heaven,  as 
his  name  implies,  culminated  the  organization  and  perfectly 
wise  and  just  dispensation  of  the  affairs  of  the  universe. 
Uranus,  as  we  have  already  observed,  was  a  son  of  G-aea 
(the  earth),  whom  he  afterward  married,  the  fruit  of  that 

(25) 


U-'irJl 

c:3 


I  9^ 


26 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


union  being  the  Titans,  the  Hecatoncheires,  and  the 
Cyclopes. 

The  Hecatoncheires,  or  Centimani,  beings  each  with  a  hun¬ 
dred  hands,  were  three  in  number  :  Cottus,  Gyg-es  or  Gyes, 
and  Briareus,  and  represented  the  frightful  crashing  of  waves 
and  its  resemblance  to  the  convulsion  of  earthquakes.  The 
Cyclopes  also  were  three  in  number  :  Brontes  with  his  thun¬ 
der,  Steropes  with  his  lightning,  and  Arges  with  his  stream 
of  light.  They  were  represented  as  having  only  one  eye, 
which  was  placed  at  the  juncture  between  nose  and  brow. 
It  was,  however,  a  large  flashing  eye,  as  became  beings  who 
were  personfications  of  the  storm-cloud,  with  its  flashes  of 
destructive  lightning  and  peals  of  thunder.  From  a  similar¬ 
ity  observed  between  the  phenomena  of  storms  and  those  of 
volcanic  eruptions,  it  was  usually  supposed  that  the  Cyclopes 
lived  in  the  heart  of  burning  mountains,  above  all,  in  Mount 
Aetna,  in  Sicily,  where  they  acted  as  apprentices  of  He¬ 
phaestus  (V ulcan),  assisting  him  to  make  thunderbolts  for 
Zeus,  and  in  other  works.  Uranus,  it  was  said,  alarmed  at 
their  promise  of  fierceness  and  strength,  had  cast  the  Heca¬ 
toncheires  and  Cyclopes  at  their  birth  back  into  the  womb  of 
the  earth  from  which  they  had  sprung. 

The  Titans  were,  like  the  Olympian  deities,  twelve  in  num¬ 
ber,  and  grouped  for  the  most  part  in  pairs  :  Oceanus  and 
Tethys,  Hyperion  and  Thia,  Crius  and  Eurybia,  Coeus 
and  Phoebe,  Cronus  and  Rhea,  Japetus  and  Themis. 
Instead  of  Eurybia  we  find  frequently  Mnemosyne.  Their 
names,  though  not  in  every  case  quite  intelligible,  show  that 
they  were  personifications  of  those  primary  elements  and 
forces  of  nature  to  the  operations  of  which,  in  the  first  ages, 
the  present  configuration  of  the  earth  was  supposed  to  be  due. 
While  Themis,  Mnemosyne,  and  Japetus  may  be  singled  out 
as  personifications  of  a  civilizing  force  in  the  nature  of  things, 
and  as  conspicuous  for  having  offspring  endowed  with  the 
same  character,  the  other  Titans  appear  to  represent  wild, 
powerful,  and  obstructive  forces.  In  keeping  with  this 


CRONUS.  27 

character  we  fiud  them  rising  in  rebellion  first  against  their 
father  and  afterward  against  Zeus. 

In  the  former  experiment  the  result  was  that  Uranus,  as 
we  learn  from  the  poetic  account  of  the  myth,  threw  them 
into  Tartarus,  where  he  kept  them  bound.  But  Gaea,  his 
wife,  grieving  at  the  hard  fate  of  her  offspring,  provided  the 
youngest  son,  Cronus,  with  a  sickle  or  curved  knife,  which 
she  had  made  of  stubborn  adamant,  and  told  him  how  and 
when  to  wound  his  father  with  it  irremediably.  The  enter¬ 
prise  succeeded,  the  Titans  were  set  free,  married  their 
sisters,  and  begat  a  numerous  family  of  divine  beings,  while 
others  of  the  same  class  sprang  from  the  blood  of  the  wound 
of  Uranus  as  it  fell  to  the  ground.  Of  these  were  the 
Giants,  monsters  with  legs  formed  of  serpents;  the  Melian 
nymphs,  or  nymphs  of  the  oaks,  from  which  the  shafts  used 
in  war  were  fashioned;  and  the  Briny s,  or  Puriae,  as  the 
Homans  called  them — Tisiphone,  Megaera,  and  Alecto — 
creatures  whose  function  it  was  originally  to  avenge  the  shed¬ 
ding  of  a  parents  blood.  Their  form  was  that  of  women, 
with  hair  of  snakes  and  girdles  of  vipers.  They  were  a 
terror  to  criminals,  whom  they  pursued  with  unrelenting 
fury. 

The  whole  of  these  divine  beings,  however,  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  the  Erinys,  who  were  worshipped  at  Athens  under 
the  name  of  the  ^Wenerable  deities,’^  were  excluded  from 
the  religion  of  the  Greeks,  and  had  a  place  only  in  the  my¬ 
thology,  while  among  the  Homans  they  were  unknown  till 
later  times,  and  even  then  were  only  introduced  as  poetic 
fictions,  with  no  hold  upon  the  religious  belief  of  the  people. 

CHONUS, 

^^The  dpener,  the  harvest  god,^’  was,  as  we  have  already 
remariced,  a  son  of  Uranus.  That  he  continued  for  a  long 
time  to  be  identified  with  the  Homan  deity,  Saturnus,  is  a 
mistake  which  recent  research  has  set  right,  and  accordingly 


28 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


we  shall  devote  a  separate  chapter  to  each.  Uranus,  deposed 
from  the  throne  of  the  gods,  was  succeeded  by  Cronus,  who 
married  his  own  sister  Rhea,  a  daughter  of  Gaea,  who  bore 
him  Pluto,  Poseidon  (Neptune),  and  Zeus  (Jupiter),  Hestia 
(Vesta),  Demeter  (Ceres),  and  Hera  (Juno).  To  prevent 
the  fulfilment  of  a  prophecy  which  had  been  communicated 


to  him  by  his  parents,  that,  like  his  father,  he  too  would  be 
dethroned  by  his  youngest  son,  Cronus  swallowed  his  first 
five  children  apparently  as  each  came  into  the  world.  But 
when  the  sixth  child  appeared,  Rhea,  his  wife,  determined  to 
save  it,  and  succeeded  in  duping  her  husband  by  giving  him 
a  stone  (perhaps  rudely  hewn  into  the  figure  of  an  infant) 
wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  which  he  swallowed,  believing 
he  had  got  rid  of  another  danger. 


CRONUS. 


29 


While  the  husband  was  being  deceived  in  this  fashion, 
Zeus,  the  newly  born  child,  was  conveyed  to  the  island  of 
Crete,  and  there  concealed  in  a  cave  on  Mount  Ida.  The 
nymphs  Adrastea  and  Ida  tended  and  nursed  him,  the  goat 
Amalthea  supplied  him  with  milk,  bees  gathered  honey  for 
him,  and  in  the  mean  time,  lest  his  infantile  cries  should  reach 
the  ears  of  Cronus,  Rhea’s  servants,  the  Curetes,  were  ap¬ 
pointed  to  keep  up  a  continual  noise  and  din  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  by  dancing  and  clashing  their  swords  and  shields. 


When  Zeus  had  grown  to  manhood  he  succeeded  by  the 
aid  of  Gaea,  or  perhaps  of  Metis,  in  persuading  Cronus  to 
yield  back  into  the  light  the  sons  whom  he  had  swallowed 
and  the  stone  which  had  been  given  him  in  deceit.  The 
stone  was  placed  at  Delphi  as  a  memorial  for  all  time.  The 
liberated  gods  joined  their  brethren  in  a  league  to  drive  their 
father  from  the  throne  and  set  Zeus  in  his  place.  This  was 
done;  but  the  change  of  government,  though  acquiesced  in 


30 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


by  the  principal  deities,  was  not  to  be  brooked  by  the  Titans, 
who  with  the  exception  of  Oceanus  proceeded  to  war.  The 
seat  of  war  was  Thessaly,  with  its  wild  natural  features  sug¬ 
gestive  of  a  conflict  in  which  huge  rocks  had  been  torn  from 
mountain  sides  and  shattered  by  the  violence  with  which  they 
had  been  thrown  in  combat.  The  party  of  Zeus  had  its  posi¬ 
tion  on  Mount  Olympus,  the  Titans  on  Mount  Othrys.  The 
struggle  lasted  many  years,  all  the  might  which  the  Olym¬ 
pians  could  bring  to  bear  being  useless  until,  on  the  advice 
of  Gaea,  Zeus  set  free  the  Cyclopes  and  Hecatoncheires,  of 
whom  the  former  fashioned  thunderbolts  for  him,  while  the 
latter  advanced  on  his  side  with  force  equal  to  the  shock  of 
an  earthquake.  The  earth  trembled  down  to  the  lowest 
Tartarus  as  Zeus  now  appeared  with  his  terrible  weapon  and 
new  allies.  Old  Chaos  thought  his  hour  had  come,  as  from 
a  continuous  blaze  of  thunderbolts  the  earth  took  fire  and 
the  waters  seethed  in  the  sea.  The  rebels  were  partly  slain 
or  consumed,  and  partly  hurled  into  deep  chasms,  with  rocks 
and  hills  reeling  after  them,  and  consigning  them  to  a  life 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The  cause  of  Cronus  was 
thus  lost  forever,  and  the  right  of  Zeus  to  rule  established 
for  all  time. 

The  island  of  Crete,  where  civilization  appears  to  have 
dawned  earlier  than  elsewhere  in  Greece,  and  where  the  story 
of  the  secret  up-bringing  of  Zeus  was  made  the  most  of,  was 
the  principal  centre  of  the  worship  of  Cronus.  Here,  how¬ 
ever,  and  in  Attica,  as  well  as  in  several  other  districts  of 
Greece,  it  was  less  as  the  grim  god  who  had  devoured  his 
children  that  he  was  worshipped  than  as  the  maturer  and 
ripener,  the  god  of  the  harvest,  who  sends  riches  and  bless¬ 
ings,  prosperity  and  gladness.  So  it  happened  that  his 
festivals  in  Greece,  the  Cronia,  and  the  corresponding  Sat¬ 
urnalia  in  Italy,  were  of  that  class  which  imposed  no  re¬ 
straint  on  the  mirth  and  pleasure  of  those  present,  and 
seemed  like  a  reminiscence  of  an  age  when  under  the  rule  of 
Cronus  there  had  been  a  perpetual  harvest  time  on  earth. 


SATUBNUS. 


31 


As  the  devourer  of  his  children  Cronus  bears  some  resem- 
I  blance  to  the  Phoenician  Moloch,  and  it  is  highly  probable 
I  that  this  phase  of  his  character  originated  in  Crete,  where 
‘  the  influence  of  Phoenician  settlers  had  been  felt  from  very 
remote  times.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  his  wife  Phea 
enjoyed  a  very  early  and  widespread  worship  in  Asia  Minor. 

The  scene  where  Rhea  presents  the  stone  carefully  wrapped  up  to 
her  husband  as  he  sits  on  his  throne,  was  the  subject  of  a  sculpture 
executed  for  Plataea  by  Praxiteles  (Pausanias  ix.  2,  7),  from  which  it 
is  possible  that  the  relief  may  have  been  made  which  is  represented  in 
our  illustration,  and  is  now  in  the  Capitoline  Museum,  Rome.  The 
thoughtful  attitude  of  Cronus,  and  especially  the  veiled  head,  seem 
to  indicate  a  plotting  mind,  while  the  sickle  in  his  left  hand  is  em¬ 
blematical  of  his  function  as  god  of  the  harvest,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  memorial  of  the  deed  he  wrought  upon  his  father  Uranus.  The 
war  with  the  Titans  (Titanomachia)  was  superseded  in  popular  esti¬ 
mation  as  early  as  the  time  of  Euripides  by  the  Gigantomachia,  or 
war  of  Giants,  which  will  be  described  in  connection  with  Zeus. 


Artists  following  the  popular  taste  neglected  the  former  altogether  as 
a  source  of  subjects. 


SATURNUS 


According  to  the  popular  belief  of  the  Romans,  made  his 
first  appearance  in  Italy  at  a  time  when  Janus  was  reigning 
king  of  the  fertile  region  that  stretches  along  the  banks  of  the 
Tiber  on  either  side.  Presenting  himself  to  J aims,  and  being 
kindly  received,  he  proceeded  to  instruct  the  subjects  of  the 
latter  in  agriculture,  gardening,  and  many  other  arts  then 
quite  unknown  to  them  :  as,  for  example,  how  to  train  and 
nurse  the  vine,  and  how  to  tend  and  cultivate  fruit-trees. 
By  such  means  he  at  length  raised  the  people  from  a  rude 
and  comparatively  barbarous  condition  to  one  of  order  and 
peaceful  occupations,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  every¬ 
where  held  in  high  esteem,  and  in  course  of  time  was  selected 
by  Janus  to  share  with  him  the  government  of  the  kingdom, 
which  thereupon  assumed  the  name  of  Saturnia,  a  land 
of  seed  and  fruit.^^  The  period  of  Saturn^  s  government 


Murray — 4 


32 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


was  in  later  times  sung  of  by  poets  as  a  happy  time  when 
sorrows  and  cares  of  life  were  unknown,  when  innocence, 
freedom,  and  gladness  reigned  throughout  the  land,  in  such 
a  degree  as  to  deserve  the  title  of  the  golden  age.  Greek 

mythology  also  has  its 


Saturnus. 


golden  age,  said  to  have 
occurred  during  the  reign 
of  Cronus,  and  this, 
perhaps,  more  than  any 
other  circumstance,  led 
to  the  identification  of 
Saturnus  and  Cronus, 
in  spite  of  the  real  dif¬ 
ference  between  the  two 
deities.  The  name  of 
Saturn’ s  wife  was  Ops. 

Once  a  year,  in  the 
month  of  December,  the 
Romans  held  a  festival 
called  Saturnalia  in 
his  honor.  It  lasted  from 
five  to  seven  days,  and 
was  accompanied  by 
amusements  of  all  kinds. 
During  thosedays  the  or¬ 
dinary  distinctions  were 
done  away  with  between 
master  and  servant  or 
slave.  No  assemblies 
were  held  to  discuss  pub¬ 
lic  affairs,  and  no  pun¬ 
ishments  for  crime  were 


inflicted.  Servants  or  slaves  went  about  dressed  like  their 
masters,  and  received  from  them  costly  presents.  Children 
received  from  their  parents  or  relatives  presents  of  pictures, 
probably  of  a  gaudy  type,  purchased  in  the  street  where  the 


c 

yi 

:m 

ii'iTlS 

M® 

c;^ 

,#r."-fc 

'Cira 


M» 


vf* 


Ufi 

f'-’i 

Im 


HERA,  OR  JUNO. 


RHEA. 


33 


picture  dealers  lived.  Mommsen  has  shown  that  even  during 
the  Empire  the  Saturnalia  proper  was  a  single  day,  Decem¬ 
ber  19th.  It  was  the  great  holiday  of  the  Roman  year,  not 
unlike  our  Christmas,  and  people  greeted  each  other  with  the 
words  bona  Saturnalia.^’  Lucian  tells  us  that  the  receiver 
of  a  book  at  that  time  was  in  honor  bound  to  read  it,  no 
matter  how  long  or  uninteresting  it  might  be. 

There  was  a  temple  of  Saturn  in  Rome,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Capitoline  Hill,  containing  a  figure  of  him  with  his  feet 
wrapped  round  with  pieces  of  woollen  cloth,  which  could  only 
be  removed  during  the  festival  of  the  Saturnalia.  In  one 
hand  he  held  a  curved  garden-knife,  as  a  sign  of  his  having 
been  the  first  to  teach  the  people  how  to  trim  the  vine  and 
olive.  In  this  temple  were  preserved  the  state  chest  and  the 
standards  of  the  army. 


RHEA. 

As  Uranus,  the  representative  of  the  fertilizing  force  in 
nature,  was  superseded  by  Cronus,  the  representative  of  a 
ripening  force,  so  Gaea,  the  primitive  goddess  of  the  earth 
with  its  productive  plains,  gave  way  to  Rhea,  a  goddess  of 
the  earth  with  its  mountains  and  forests.  Gaea  had  been 
the  mother  of  the  powerful  Titans.  Rhea  was  the  mother 
of  gods  less  given  to  feats  of  strength,  but  more  highly  gifted: 
Pluto,  Poseidon  (Neptune),  and  Zeus  (Jupiter),  Hera  (Juno), 
Demeter  (Ceres),  and  Hestia  (Vesta).  Her  titles — as,  for 
example,  Dindymene  and  Berecynthia — were  derived  for 
the  most  part  from  the  names  of  mountains  in  Asia  Minor, 
particularly  those  of  Phrygia  and  Lydia,  her  worship  having 
been  intimately  associated  with  the  early  civilization  of  these 
countries.  There  her  name  was  Cybele  or  Cybebe,  which 
also,  from  its  being  employed  to  designate  her  sanctuaries 
(Cybela)in  caves  or  mountain  sides,  points  to  her  character  a& 
a  mountain  goddess. 

The  lofty  hills  of  Asia  Minor,  while  sheltering  on  their 


I 


34  DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER.  | 

cavernous  sides  wild  animals,  such  as  the  panther  and  lion,  ' 
which  it  was  ber  delight  to  tame,  also  looked  down  on  many  ^ 
flourishing  cities  which  it  was  her  duty  to  protect.  In  this 

latter  capacity  she  wore  a  mural 
crown,  and  was  styled  Mater  tur- 
rita.  But  though  herself  identified 
with  peaceful  civilization,  her  wor¬ 
ship  was  always  distinguished  by 
wild  and  fantastic  excitement,  her 
priests  and  devotees  rushing  through 
the  woods  at  night  with  torches 
burning,  maiming  and  wounding 
each  other,  and  producing  all  the 
din  that  was  possible  from  the 
clashing  of  cymbals,  the  shrill  notes 
of  pipes,  and  the  frantic  voice  of 
song.  To  account  for  this  peculiarity 
of  her  worship,  which  must  have 
been  intended  to  commemorate  some 
great  sorrow,  the  story  was  told  of 
how  she  had  loved  the  young  Phrygian  shepherd,  Attis, 
whose  extraordinary  beauty  had  also  won  the  heart  of  the 
king’s  daughter  of  Pessinus;  how  he  was  destined  to  marry 
the  princess,  and  how  the  goddess,  suddenly  appearing, 
spread  terror  and  consternation  among  the  marriage  guests. 
Attis  escaped  to  the  mountains,  maimed  himself,  and  died 
beside  a  pine  tree,  into  which  his  soul  transmigrated,  while 
from  his  blood  sprang  violets  like  a  wreath  round  the  tree. 
The  goddess  implored  Zeus  to  restore  her  lover.  This  could 
not  be.  But  so  much  was  granted  that  his  body, should 
never  decay,  that  his  hair  should  always  grow,  and  that  his 
little  finger  should  always  move.  The  pine  was  a  symbol 
of  winter  and  sadness,  the  violet  of  spring  and  its  hopeful 
beauty. 

The  first  priests  of  Bhea-Cybele  v^’ere  the  Curetes  and 
Corybantes,  for  whom  it  was  also  claimed  that  they  had  been 


RHEA. 


35 


the  first  beings  of  mere  human  form  and  capacity  that  had 
appeared  on  the  earth,  having  sprung  from  the  mountain  side 
like  trees.  The  great  centre  of  her  worship  was  always  at 
Pessinus  in  Phrygia,  under  the  shadow  of  Mount  Dindymon, 
on  which  was  a  cave  containing  what  was  believed  to  be  the 
oldest  of  her  sanctuaries.  Within  this  sanctuary  was  the 
tomb  of  Attis,  and  an  ancient  image  of  the  goddess  in  the 
shape  of  a  stone,  which  was  said  to  have  fallen  from  heaven. 
The  first  temple  at  Pessinus  had  been  erected,  it  was  said, 
by  King  Midas.  Successive  rulers  of  Phrygia  maintained 
and  endowed  it  so  liberally  that  it  continued  to  be  a  place 
of  importance  long  after  Phrygian  civilization  had  sunk. 
Spreading  from  this  centre,  the  worship  of  Cybele  took  hold 
first  in  the  neighboring  towns  of  Sardis,  Magnesia,  Smyrna, 
Ephesus,  Lampsacus,  and  Cyzicus;  thence  to  Athens,  and  in 
later  times  to  the  moun¬ 
tainous  district  of  Arca¬ 
dia,  where  it  was  locally 
believed  that  Zeus  had 
been  born  and  that  the 
creation  of  mankind  had 
taken  place.  The  worship 
of  Cybele  was  introduced 
into  Rome  during  the 
second  Punic  war,  because 
the  Sibylline  fates  had  an¬ 
nounced  that  if  her  image  was  brought  to  Rome  a  foe  would 
be  expelled ;  this  was  done  in  the  shape  of  the  small  black 
stone,  mentioned  above,  which  was  placed  in  the  Temple  of 
Victory.  The  Megalesia  began  on  April  4th  and  lasted  six 
days. 

In  art  Rhea  appears  as  the  goddess  of  mountain  tops,  riding  on  a 
lion,  and  holding  a  sceptre  in  one  hand  and  a  cymbal  in  the  other ; 
beside  her  the  moon  and  a  star.  At  other  times  she  is  seated  on  a 
throne  with  a  lion  in  her  lap,  or  with  a  lion  at  each  side,  or  in  a 
chariot  drawn  by  lions  or  panthers. 


36 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


ZEUS,  OR  JUPITER. 

Third  and  last  on  the  throne  of  the  highest  god  sat  Zeus. 
The  fertile  imagination  of  early  times  had,  as  we  have  seen, 
placed  his  abode  on  Mount  Olympus  in  Thessaly.  But  a 
later  and  more  practical  age  usually  conceived  him  as  inhab¬ 
iting  a  region  above  the  sky,  where  the  source  of  all  light  was 
supposed  to  be.  He  was  god  of  the  broad  light  of  day,  as 


Zeus,  or  Jupiter, 


his  name  implies,  had  control  of  all  the  phenomena  of  the 
heavens,  and  accordingly  sudden  changes  of  weather,  the 
gathering  of  clouds,  and,  more  than  all,  the  burst  of  a  thun¬ 
der-storm  made  his  presence  felt  as  a  supernatural  being 
interested  in  the  affairs  of  mankind.  Hence  such  titles  as 
^^cloud-gatherer,’’  god  of  the  murky  cloud,”  thun- 
derer,”  and  ‘^mighty  thunderer,”  were  those  by  which  he 
was  most  frequently  invoked.  On  the  other  hand,  the  seren¬ 
ity  and  boundless  extent  of  the  sky,  over  which  he  ruled, 


ZEUS,  OR  JUPITER. 


37 


combined  with  the  never-failing  recurrence  of  day,  led  him 
to  be  regarded  as  an  everlasting  god  :  ''Zeus  who  was  and  is 
and  shall  be/^  To  indicate  this  feature  of  his  character  he 
was  styled  Cronides  or  Cronion,  a  title  which,  though  appar¬ 
ently  derived  from  his 
father  Cronus,  must 
have  assumed  even  at 
a  very  early  time  a 
special  significance; 
otherwise  we  should 
expect  to  find  it  ap¬ 
plied  also  to  his 
two  brothers,  Posei¬ 
don  (Neptune)  and 
Hades  (Pluto). 

The  eagle  soaring 
beyond  vision  seemed 
to  benefit  by  its  ap¬ 
proach  to  Zeus,  and 
came  to  be  looked 
on  as  sacred  to  him. 

Similarly  high  moun¬ 
tain  peaks  derived  a 
sanctity  from  their 
nearness  to  the  region 
of  light,  and  were 
everywhere  in  Greece 
associated  with  his 
worship,  many  of  them 
furnishing  titles  by 
which  he  was  locally 
known  —  as,  for  in¬ 
stance,  Aetnaeus,  a  title  derived  from  Mount  Aetna  in 
Sicily,  or  Atabyrius,  from  a  mountain  in  Ehodes.  Altars 
to  him  and  even  temples  were  erected  on  hill  tops,  to  reach 
which  by  long  toiling,  and  then  to  see  the  earth  spread  out 


38 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


small  beneath,  was  perhaps  the  best  preparation  for  ap¬ 
proaching  him  in  a  proper  spirit.  In  contrast  with  this,  and 
as  testimony  to  the  saying  of  Hesiod  that  Zeus  Cronides 
lived  not  only  in  the  pure  air  but  also  at  the  roots  of  the 
earth  and  in  men,  we  find  the  low  ground  of  Dodona  in 
Epirus  viewed  with  peculiar  solemnity  as  a  spot  where 
direct  communion  was  to  be  enjoyed  with  him.  A  wind 
was  heard  to  rustle  in  the  branches  of  a  sacred  oak  when 
the  god  had  any  communication  to  make,  the  task  of  in¬ 
terpreting  it  devolving  on  a  priesthood  called  Selli.  A 
spring  rose  at  the  foot  of  the  oak,  and  sacred  pigeons 
rested  among  its  leaves,  the  story  being  that  they  had  first 
drawn  attention  to  the  oracular  powers  of  the  tree.  It 
should  here  be  noted  that  the  real  importance  of  this  worship 
of  Zeus  at  Dodona  belonged  to  exceedingly  early  times,  and 
that  in  the  primitive  religion  of  the  Italian,  German,  and 
Celtic  nations  the  oak  was  regarded  with  similar  reverence. 

As  the  highest  god,  and  throughout  Greece  worshipped  as 
such,  he  was  styled  the  father  of  gods  and  men,  the  ruler  and 
preserver  of  the  world.  He  was  believed  to  be  possessed  of 
every  form  of  power,  endued  with  wisdom,  and  in  his  domin¬ 
ion  over  the  human  race  partial  to  justice,  and  with  no  limit 
to  his  goodness  and  love.  Zeus  orders  the  alternation  of  day 
and  night,  the  seasons  succeed  at  his  command,  the  winds 
obey  him  ;  now  he  gathers,  now  scatters  the  clouds,  and  bids 
the  gentle  rain  fall  to  fertilize  the  fields  and  meadows.  He 
watches  over  the  administration  of  law  and  justice  in  the 
state,  lends  majesty  to  kings,  and  protects  them  in  the  exer¬ 
cise  of  their  sovereignty.  He  observes  attentively  the  gene¬ 
ral  intercourse  and  dealings  of  men — everywhere  demand¬ 
ing  and  rewarding  uprightness,  truth,  faithfulness,  and 
kindness;  everywhere  punishing  wrong,  falseness,  faithless¬ 
ness,  and  cruelty.  As  the  eternal  father  of  men,  he  was 
believed  to  be  kindly  at  the  call  of  the  poorest  and  most 
forsaken.  The  homeless  beggar  looked  to  him  as  a  merciful 
guardian  who  punished  the  heartless,  and  delighted  to  reward 


ZEUS,  OR  JUPITER. 


39 


pity  and  sympathy.  To  illustrate  his  rule  on  earth  we  would 
here  give  a  familiar  story: 

Philemon  and  Baucis,  an  aged  couple  of  the  poorer  class, 
were  living  peacefully  and  full  of  piety  toward  the  gods  in 
their  cottage  in  Phrygia,  when  Zeus,  who  often  visited  the 
earth,  disguised,  to  inquire  into  the  behavior  of  men,  paid  a 
visit,  in  passing  through  Phrygia  on  such  a  journey,  to  these 
poor  old  people,  and  was  received  by  them  very  kindly  as  a 
weary  traveller,  which  he  pretended  to  be.  Bidding  him 
welcome  to  the  house,  they  set  about  preparing  for  their 
guest,  who  was  accompanied  by  Hermes  (Mercury),  as  excel¬ 
lent  a  meal  as  they  could  afford,  and  for  this  purpose  were 
about  to  kill  the  only  goose  they  had  left,  when  Zeus  inter¬ 
fered^  for  he  was  touched  by  their  kindliness  and  genuine 
piety,  and  that  all  the  more  because  he  had  observed  among 
the  other  inhabitants  of  the  district  nothing  but  cruelty  of 
disposition  and  a  habit  of  reproaching  and  despising  the  gods. 
To  punish  this  conduct  he  determined  to  visit  the  country 
with  a  destroying  flood,  but  to  save  Philemon  and  Baucis, 
the  good  aged  couple,  and  to  reward  them  in  a  striking  man¬ 
ner.  To  this  end  he  revealed  himself  to  them  before  opening 
the  gates  of  the  great  flood,  transformed  their  poor  cottage 
on  the  hill  into  a  splendid  temple,  installed  the  aged  pair  as 
his  priest  and  priestess,  and  granted  their  prayer  that  they 
might  both  die  together.  When  after  many  years  death 
overtook  them  they  were  changed  into  two  trees,  that  grew 
side  by  side  in  the  neighborhood — an  oak  and  a  linden. 

While  in  adventures  of  this  kind  the  highest  god  of  the 
Greeks  appears  on  the  whole  in  a  character  worthy  of  admi¬ 
ration,  it  will  be  seen  that  many  other  narratives  represent 
him  as  laboring  under  human  weaknesses  and  error.  The 
first  wife  of  Zeus  was  Metis  (Cleverness),  a  daughter  of  the 
friendly  Titan  Oceanus.  But  as  Pate,  a  dark  and  omnis¬ 
cient  being,  had  predicted  that  Metis  would  bear  Zeus  a  son 
who  should  surpass  his  father  in  power,  Zeus  followed  in  a 
manner  the  example  of  his  father  Cronus,  by  swallowing 


m 

Ml  ’ 


40 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


Metis  before  she  was  delivered  of  her  child,  and  then  from 
his  own  head  gave  birth  to  the  goddess  of  wisdom,  Pallas 
Athene  (Minerva).  Next  he  married,  it  is  said,  but  only 
for  a  time,  Themis  (Justice),  and  became  the  father  of 
Astraea  and  the  Horae.  His  chief  love  was,  however, 
always  for  Hera  (Juno),  with  her  many  charms,  who,  after 
withstanding  his  entreaties  for  a  time,  at  length  gave  way, 
and  the  divine  marriage  took  place  amid  great  rejoicing,  not 
on  the  part  of  the  gods  of  heaven  alone,  for  those  other  dei¬ 
ties  also,  to  whom  the  management  of  the  world  had  been  in 
various  departments  delegated,  had  been  invited,  and  went 
gladly  to  the  splendid  ceremony. 

Hera  became  the  mother  of  Hebe,  Ares  (Mars),  and  Heph¬ 
aestus  (V ulcan).  Zeus  did  not,  however,  remain  constant  and 
true  to  the  marriage  with  his  sister,  but  secretly  indulged  a 
passion  for  other  goddesses,  and  often,  under  the  disguise  of 
various  forms  and  shapes,  approached  even  the  daughters  of 
men.  Hera  gave  way  to  indignation  when  she  found  out 
such  doings.  From  secret  intercourse  of  this  kind  Demeter 
(Ceres)  bore  him  Persephone  (Proserpina);  Leto  (Latona)  be¬ 
came  the  mother  of  Apollo  and  Artemis  (Diana) ;  Dione,  the 
mother  of  Aphrodite  (Venus);  Mnemosyne,  of  the  Muses; 
Eurynome,  of  the  Charites  (Graces);  Semele,  of  Dionysus 
(Bacchus);  Maia,  of  Hermes  (Mercury);  Alcmene,  of  Her¬ 
cules  ;  several  of  the  demigods,  of  whom  we  shall  afterward 
speak,  being  sons  of  Zeus  by  other  and  different  mothers. 

These  numerous  love  passages  of  Zeus  (and  other  gods  as 
well),  related  by  ancient  poets,  appear  to  us,  as  it  is  known 
they  appeared  to  the  right-thinking  men  amongst  the  ancients 
themselves,  unbecoming  of  the  great  ruler  of  the  universe. 
The  wonder  is  how  such  stories  came  into  existence;  unless, 
indeed,  this  be  accepted  as  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  their 
origin — that  they  are  simply  the  different  versions  of  one 
great  myth  of  the  marriage  of  Zens,  peculiar  in  early  times 
to  the  different  districts  of  Greece,  each  version  representing 
him  as  having  but  one  wife,  and  being  constant  to  her.  Her 


ZEUS,  OR  JUPITER. 


41 


name  and  the  stories  connected  with  their  married  life  would 
be  more  or  less  different  in  each  case.  In  after-time,  when 
the  various  tribes  of  the  Greeks  became  united  into  one  peo¬ 
ple,  and  the  various  myths  that  had  sprung  up  independently 


concerning  Zeus  came,  through  the  influence  of  poets  and  by 
other  means,  to  be  known  to  the  whole  nation,  We  may  imag¬ 
ine  that  the  only  way  that  presented  itself  of  uniting  them 
all  into  one  consistent  narrative  was  by  degrading  all  the 
wives,  except  Hera,  to  the  position  of  temporary  acquaint- 


42 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


ances.  It  is,  however,  unfortunate  that  we  cannot  now  trace  > 
every  one  of  his  acquaintances  of  this  sort  back  to  a  primi¬ 
tive  position  of  sufficiently  great  local  importance.  At  the 
same  time,  enough  is  known  to  justify  this  principle  of  inter¬ 
pretation,  not  only  with  regard  to  the  apparent  improprieties 
in  the  conduct  of  Zeus,  but  also  of  the  other  deities  wherever 
they  occur.  Properly  Zeus  could  have  but  one  wife,  such 
being  the  limit  of  marriage  among  the  Greeks. 

Of  the  several  localities  in  Greece  where  the  worship  of 
Zeus  was  conducted  with  unusual  ceremony  and  devotion,  the 
two  most  deserving  of  attention  are  Athens  and  Olympia. 

In  Athens  the  change  of  season  acting  on  the  temperament 
of  the  people  seemed  to  produce  a  change  in  their  feelings® 
toward  the  god.  For  from  early  spring  and  throughout  theffl 
summer  they  called  him  the  friendly  god  (Zeus  Meilichius),  Jj 
offered  public  sacrifices  at  his  altars,  and  on  three  occasions 
held  high  festival  in  his  honor.  But  as  the  approach  of 
winter  made  itself  felt,  thoughts  of  his  anger  returned,  he 
was  called  the  cruel  god  (Zeus  Maemactes),  and  an  endeavor 
was  made  to  propitiate  him  by  a  festival  called  Maemacteria. 
At  Olympia,  in  Elis,  a  festival,  which  from  an  early  period 
had  assumed  national  importance,  was  held  in  his  honor  in 
the  month  of  J uly  (Hecatombaeon)  every  fifth  year — that 
is,  after  the  lapse  of  four  clear  years.  It  lasted  at  least  five 
and  perhaps  seven  days,  commencing  with  sacrifice  at  the 
great  altar  of  Zeus,  in  which  the  deputies  from  the  various 
states,  with  their  splendid  retinues,  took  part.  This  cere¬ 
mony  over,  a  series  of  competitions  took  place  in  foot-racing,  lii 
leaping  from  a  raised  platform  with  weights  (Jialteres)  in  the 
liands  to  give  impetus,  throwing  the  disk  (a  circular  plate  of 
metal  or  stone  weighing  about  eight  pounds),  boxing  with 
leather  thongs  twisted  around  the  arm  and  sometimes  with  g 
metal  rings  in  the  hands,  horse-racing,  chariot-racing  with 
two  or  four  horses,  and  lastly,  a  competition  of  musicians  and 
poets.  The  lists  were  open  to  all  free-born  Greeks,  except 
such  as  had  been  convicted  of  crime,  or  such  as  had  entailed 


ZEUS,  OR  JUPITER. 


43 


iu  former  contests  the  penalty  of  a  fine  and  had  refused  to 
pay  it.  Intending  competitors  were  required  to  give  sureties 
that  they  had  gone  through  a  proper  course  of  training,  and 
that  they  would  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  judges.  Slaves 
and  foreigners  might  look  on,  but  the  presence  of  married 
women  was  forbidden.  The  entire  management  of  the  fes¬ 
tival  was  in  the  hands  of  a  board  elected  from  their  own 
number  by  the  people  of  Elis.  The  plain  of  Olympia,  where 
this  national  meeting  in  honor  of  Zeus  was  held,  is  now  a 
waste;  but  some  idea  may  still  be  gathered  from  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  Pausanias  of  its  magnificent  temple  and  vast  number 
'  of  statues  that  studded  the  sacred  grove.  Within  the  temple 
was  a  statue  of  the  god,  in  gold  and  ivory,  the  work  of  Phi- 
^  dias,  the  most  renowned  of  ancient  sculptors.  It  was  forty 
feet  in  height,  and  for  its  beauty  and  grandeur  was  reckoned 
'  one  of  the  Seven  Wonders*  of  the  ancient  world. 

As  some  would  have  it,  these  games  had  been  established 
I  by  Zeus  himself  to  commemorate  his  victory  over  the  Titans 
i  and  even  the  gods  in  early  times  are  said  to  have  taken  part 
t  in  the  contests.  The  people  of  Elis  maintained  that  the  fes- 
i  tival  had  been  founded  by  Pelops,  while  others  ascribed  that 
:  honor  to  Hercules.  The  usual  method  of  reckoning  time 
I  was  by  the  interval  between  these  festivals,  one  Olympiad 
being  equal  to  four  years.  The  first  festival  from  which  the 
reckoning  started,  as  ours  does  from  the  birth  of  Christ, 
occurred  in  the  year  776  B.  C.  ^ 

The  birth  and  early  life  of  Zeus,  up  to  the  period,  when, 

!  after  a  long  and  fierce  war  around  Olympus,  he  defeated  the 
i  Titans  and  established  his  right  to  reign  in  the  place  of  his 


*  The  seven  wonders  of  the  ancient  world  were  (1)  The  Pyramids  of  Egypt  •  (2)  The 
\Uns  of  Babylon ;  (3)  The  Hanging  Gardens  of  Babylon  ;  (4)  The  Temple  of  Diana  at 

m  ^  Olympia;  (6)  The  Mausoleum  at  Halicarnassus- 

(7)  The  Colossus  at  Rhodes  ;  all  monuments  of  art  of  extraordinary  beauty  or  stupen¬ 
dous  dimensions.  In  statues  of  gold  and  ivory,  such  as  that  of  Zeus  at  Olympia  and 
many  others,  the  face  and  nude  parts  of  the  body  were  made  of  ivory,  while  the’ hair 
and  drapery  were  reproduced  in  gold,  richly  worked  in  parts  with  enamel  We  ob- 
tein  an  idea  of  the  expense  of  such  splendid  statues,  from  the  statement  that  a  single 
lock  of  the  hair  of  Zeus  at  Olympia  cost  about  $1250. 


W  ,!»*• 

•'lit 

:a3 

•ttiii 

or* 

IN 

« 


n«r 


44 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


father  Cronus,  has  already  been  related.  That  his  two  broth¬ 
ers,  to  whose  assistance  he  had  been  greatly  indebted  during 
the  war,  might  have  a  share  in  the  management  of  the  world, 
lots  were  cast;  and  to  Poseidon  (Neptune)  fell  the  control  of 
the  seas  and  rivers,  while  Hades  (Pluto)  obtained  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  world  under  the  earth.  Opposition,  however, 
on  the  part  of  the  kindred  of  Cronus  had  not  yet  ceased,  and 
the  new  dynasty  of  gods  had  to  encounter  a  fresh  outbreak 
of  war  even  more  terrible  thau  had  been  that  of  the  Titans, 
the  enemy  being  in  this  case  the  Giants,  a  race  of  beings 
sprung  from  the  blood  of  Uranus.  The  Giants  took  up  their 
position  on  the  peninsula  of  Pallene,  which  is  separated  from 
Mount  Olympus  by  a  bay.  Their  king  and  leader  was  Por- 
phyrion,  their  most  powerful  combatant  Alcyoneus,  against 
whom  Zeus  and  Athene  took  up  arms  in  vain.  Their  mother 
Earth  had  made  the  Giants  proof  against  all  the  weapons  of 
the  gods — not,  however,  against  the  weapons  of  mortals;  and 
knowing  this  Athene  brought  Hercules  on  the  scene.  Sun 
and  moon  ceased  to  shine  at  the  command  of  Zeus,  and  the 
herb  was  cut  down  which  had  furnished  the  Giants  with  a 
charm  against  wounds.  The  huge  Alcyoneus,  who  had  hurled 
great  rocks  at  the  Olympians,  fell  by  the  arrows  of  Hercules; 
and  Porphyrion,  while  in  the  act  of  seizing  Hera,  was  over¬ 
powered.  Of  the  others,  Pallas  and  Enceladus  were  slain 
by  Athene,  the  boisterous  Polybotes  fled,  but  on  reaching 
the  island  of  Cos  was  overtaken  by  a  rock  hurled  at  him  by 
Poseidon  (Neptune)  and  buried  under  it,  while  Ephialtes 
had  to  yield  to  Apollo,  Rhoetus  to  Dionysus,  and  Clytius  to 
Hecate  or  Hephaestus  (Vulcan).  To  the  popular  mind  this 
war  with  the  Giants  had  a  greater  interest  than  the  Titano- 
machia.  Ultimately  the  two  were  confounded  with  each 
other. 

These  wars  over,  there  succeeded  a  period  which  was  called 
the  Silver  Age  on  earth.  Men  were  rich  then,  as  in  the 
Golden  Age  under  the  rule  of  Cronus,  and  lived  in  plenty; 
but  still  they  wanted  the  innocence  and  contentment  which 


ZEUS,  OR  JUPITER. 


45 


were  the  true  sources  of  human  happiness  in  the  former  age; 
and,  accordingly,  while  living  in  luxury  and  delicacy,  they 
became  overbearing  in  their  manners  to  the  highest  degree, 
were  never  satisfied,  and  forgot  the  gods,  to  whom,  in  their 
confidence  of  prosperity  and  comfort,  they  denied  the  rev¬ 
erence  they  owed.  To  punish  them,  and  as  a  warning  against 
such  habits,  Zeus  swept  them  away  and  concealed  them  under 


Interior  of  the  Temple  of  Zeus  in  Olympia. 


tfie  earth,  where  they  continued  to  live  as  demons  or  spirits, 
not  so  powerful  as  the  spirits  of  the  men  of  the  Golden  Age, 
but  yet  respected  by  those  who  came  after  them. 

Then  followed  the  Bronze  Ag*e,  a  period  of  constant  quar¬ 
relling  and  deeds  of  violence.  Instead  of  cultivated  lands 
and  a  life  of  peaceful  occupations  and  orderly  habits,  there 
came  a  day  when  everywhere  might  was  right;  and  men,  big 
and  powerful  as  they  were,  became  physically  worn  out,  and 

Murray — 5 


46 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


sank  into  the  lower  world  without  leaving  a  trace  of  their 
having  existed,  and  without  a  claim  to  a  future  spiritual  life. 

Finally  came  the  Iron  Age,  in  which  enfeebled  mankind 
had  to  toil  for  bread  with  their  hands,  and,  bent  on  gain, 


Astraea. 


did  their  best  to  overreach  each  other.  Dike  or  Astrae 
the  goddess  of  justice  and  good  faith,  modesty,  and  truth, 
turned  her  back  on  such  scenes,  and  retired  to  Olympus, 
while  Zeus  determined  to  destroy  the  human  race  by  a  great 


ZEUS,  OR  JUPITER. 


47 


flood.  The  whole  of  Greece  lay  under  water,  and  none  but 
Deucalion  and  his  wife  Pyrrha  were  saved.  Leaving  the 
summit  of  Parnassus,  where  they  had  escaped  the  flood,  they 
were  commanded  by  the  gods  to  become  the  founders  of  a 
new  race  of  men  — that  is,  the  present  race.  To  this  end,  it 
is  said,  they  cast  around  them,  as  they  advanced,  stones,  which 
presently  assumed  the  forms  of  men,  who,  when  the  flood  had 
quite  disappeared,  commenced  to  cultivate  the  land  again, 
and  spread  themselves  in  all  directions;  but  being  little  better 
than  the  race  that  had  been  destroyed,  they,  too,  often  drew 
down  the  displeasure  of  Zeus  and  suffered  at  his  hands. 

Among  the  Pomans  Jupiter  held  a  place  of  honor  corre¬ 
sponding  in  some  degree  to  that  held  by  Zeus  among  the 
Greeks.  His  favorite  title  was  Optimus  Maximus.  His 
name  being  of  the  same  derivation  as  that  of  Zeus,  indicates 
his  function  as  god  of  the  broad  light  of  day  and  armed  with 
the  weapon  of  lightning.  Temples  and  altars  were  erected 
for  the  purpose  of  his  worship,  statues  were  raised,  and  public 
festivals  held  in  his  honor.  As  to  sacrifice,  both  he  and  Zeus 
delighted  most  in  bulls.  To  both  the  eagle,  the  oak,  and 
the  olive  were  sacred. 

The  growth  of  religious  feeling  precedes  the  development  of  artistic 
faculty  in  man,  and  accordingly  we  find  that  in  the  earliest  ages  the 
presence  of  a  god  was  symbolized  only  by  some  natural  object.  In  the 
case  of  Zeus  this  was  an  oak-tree,  while  in  the  case  of  Rhea-Cybele 
it  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a  stone  which  was  believed  to  have  fallen 
from  heaven.  The  first  artistic  efforts  to  reproduce  the  image  of  a 
god  were  called  xoana,  and  consisted  of  a  pillar  rudely  shaped  like 
a  human  figure  seen  at  a  distance,  the  artist’s  attention  being  mostly 
directed  to  the  head.  Of  this  kind  was  the  figure  of  Zeus  Labran- 
deus  as  represented  on  the  coins  of  Caria,  the  figure  of  Zeus  with 
three  eyes  at  Argos,  and  the  figure  of  him  without  ears  at  Crete. 
Piety  caused  those  rude  and  strange  images  to  be  retained  till  long 
after  the  art  of  sculpture  had  become  equal  to  the  production  of  im¬ 
posing  figures.  The  gold  and  ivory  statue  of  Zeus  at  Olympia,  of 
which  mention  has  already  been  made,  represented  him  seated  on  his 
throne,  and  some  small  idea  may  still  be  gained  of  it  from  what  is 
no  doubt  a  copy  of  it  on  the  coins  of  Elis.  The  bust  known  as  the 
Zeus  of  Otricoli  is  perhaps  the  best  existing  example  of  the  face  of 


48 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


Zeus  as  conceived  by  the  Greek  sculptors.  The  attributes  of  Zeus 
are  the  eagle,  a  sceptre,  a  thunderbolt,  and,  in  the  case  of  an  ancient 
image  in  Caria,  an  axe.  He  is  represented  sometimes  with  Hera  by 
his  side,  sometimes  with  Athene,  or  with  both,  or  with  Athene  and 
Hercules.  When  he  leaves  his  throne  it  is  generally  to  rise  in  might 
against  an  enemy  such  as  the  Giants,  and  in  these  cases  he  is  always 
armed  with  the  thunderbolt,  and  either  stands  in  the  act  of  hurling 
it,  or  drives  in  a  chariot  attended  by  other  gods,  as  he  is  frequently 
to  be  seen  on  the  ancient  painted  vases.  Another  favorite  subject  on 
these  vases  is  the  birth  of  Athene  from  the  head  of  Zeus.  In  works 
of  art  no  distinction  is  made  between  Zeus  and  Jupiter,  for  this 
reason,  that  Rome  had  no  distinctive  sculpture  of  its  own. 

HERA,  OR  JUNO, 

Was  a  divine  personification  of  what  may  be  called  the  female 
power  of  the  heavens— that  is,  the  atmosphere,  with  its  fickle 

and  yet  fertilizing  properties;  while 
Zeus  represented  those  properties  of 
the  heavens  that  appeared  to  be  of  a 
male  order.  To  their  marriage  were 
traced  all  the  blessings  of  nature, 
and  when  they  met,  as  on  Mount 
Ida,  in  a  golden  cloud,  sweet  fra¬ 
grant  flowers  sprangup  around  them. 
A  tree  with  golden  apples  grew  up 
at  their  marriage  feast,  and  streams 
of  ambrosia  flowed  past  their  couch 
in  the  happy  island  of  the  west. 
That  marriage  ceremony  took  place, 
it  was  believed,  in  spring,  and  to 
keep  up  a  recollection  of  it,  an  an¬ 
nual  festival  was  held  at  that  season 
in  her  honor.  Like  the  sudden  and 
violent  storms,  however,  which  in 
certain  seasons  break  the  peaceful¬ 
ness  of  the  sky  of  Greece,  the  meetings  of  this  divine  pair 
often  resulted  in  temporary  quarrels  and  wrangling,  the 


m 

Ml  ‘  '‘W 

c 


m 


c;..d 


«rr:% 


llt^k 

,fK'i 

a'i 

•«•*  r 


CM? 


49  -~i 


ZEUS,  OR  JUPITER 


LIBRARY 

OF 


— ,  * ■  ♦ 

Kvr  J  4  ii 


HERA,  OB  JUNO. 


49 


blame  of  which  was  usually  traced  to  Hera;  poets,  and  most 
of  all  Homer,  in  the  Iliad,  describing  her  as  frequently  jeal¬ 
ous,  angry,  and  quarrelsome,  her  character  as  lofty  and  proud, 
cold,  and  not  free  from  bitterness.  Of  these  scenes  of  discord 
we  have  several  instances,  as  when  (Iliad  i.  586)  Zeus  actu¬ 
ally  beat  her,  and  threw  her  son  Hephaestus  (V ulcan)  out  of 
Olympus;  or  (Iliad  xv.  18)  when,  vexed  at  her  plotting 
against  Hercules,  he  hung  her  out  of  Olympus  with  two 
great  weights  (earth  and  sea)  attached  to  her  feet,  and  her 
arms  bound  by  golden  fetters — an  illustration  of  how  all  the 
phenomen:^,  of  the  visible  sky  were  thought  to  hang  dependent 
on  the  highest  god  of  heaven;  or  again  (Iliad  i.  396)  when 
Hera,  with  Poseidon  (Neptune)  and  Athene,  attempted  to 
chain  down  Zeus,  and  would  have  succeeded  had  not  Thetis 
brought  to  his  aid  the  sea  giant  Aegaeon.  As  goddess  of 
storms,  Hera  was  consistently  described  as  the  mother  of 
Ares  (Mars),  herself  taking  part  in  war  occasionally,  as 
against  the  Trojans,  and  enjoying  the  honor  of  festivals, 
accompanied  by  warlike  contests,  as  at  Argos,  where  the  prize 
was  a  sacred  shield. 

Her  favorite  companions,  in  periods  of  peace,  were  the 
Charites  (Graces)  and  the  Horae  (Seasons),  of  which  the 
latter  are  also  found  in  company  of  her  husband.  Her  con¬ 
stant  attendant  was  Iris,  goddess  of  the  rainbow.  The  pea¬ 
cock,  in  its  pride  and  gorgeous  array,  and  the  cuckoo  as  herald 
of  the  spring,  were  sacred  to  her.  In  the  spring-time  occurred 
her  principal  festival,  at  which  the  ceremony  consisted  of  an 
imitation  of  a  wedding,  a  figure  of  the  goddess  being  decked 
out  in  bridal  attire,  and  placed  on  a  couch  of  willow  branches, 
while  wreaths  and  garlands  of  flowers  were  scattered  about, 
because  she  loved  them.  Another  singular  festival  was  held 
in  her  honor  every  fifth  year  at  Olympia  in  Elis,  the  cere¬ 
mony  consisting  in  the  presentation  of  a  splendidly  embroid¬ 
ered  mantle  {^jpeplus)  to  the  goddess,  and  races  in  which  only 
girls  and  unmarried  women  took  part,  running  with  their 


50 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


hair  streaming  down,  and  wearing  short  dresses — the  judges 
on  the  occasion  being  sixteen  married  women. 

The  character,  however,  in  which  Hera  was  most  generally 
viewed  was  that  of  queen  of  heaven,  and  as  the  faithful  wife 
of  Zeus  claiming  the  highest  conceivable  respect  and  honor. 
Herself  the  ideal  of  womanly  virtues,  she  made  it  a  principal 
duty  to  protect  them  among  mortals,  punishing  with  severity 
all  trespassers  against  her  moral  law — but,  naturally,  none 
so  much  as  those  who  had  been  objects  of  her  husband^ s 
affections — as,  for  instance,  Semele,  the  mother  of  Dionysus, 
or  Alcmene,  the  mother  of  Hercules.  Her  worship  was 
restricted  for  the  most  part  to  women,  who,  according  to  the 
various  stages  of  womanhood,  regarded  her  in  a  different 
light:  some  as  a  bride,  styling  her  Parthenia  ;  others  as  a 
wife,  with  the  title  of  Gamelia,  Zygia,  or  Teleia  ;  and  others 
again  in  the  character  of  Ilithyia,  as  helpful  at  childbirth. 
Of  these  phases  of  her  life  that  of  bride  was  obviously  asso- 
ciable  with  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens  in  spring-time, 
when  the  return  of  dazzling  light  and  warmth  spread  every¬ 
where  affeetionate  gaiety  and  the  blooming  of  new  life.  As 
queen  of  heaven  and  wife  of  Zeus  she  will  be  found,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  legends  of  Argos  and  its  neighborhood,  pos¬ 
sessed,  from  motives  of  jealousy,  of  a  hatred  toward  the 
nocturnal  phenomena  of  the  sky,  and  especially  the  moon, 
as  personified  by  the  wandering  lo,  whom-  she  placed  under 
the  surveillance  of  Argus,  a  being  with  innumerable  eyes, 
and  apparently  a  personification  of  the  starry  system. 

The  town  of  Argos,  with  its  ancient  legends,  which  clearly 
betray  some  powerful  sensitiveness  to  the  phenomena  of  light, 
was  the  oldest  and  always  the  chief  centre  of  this  worship  of 
Hera.  There  was  her  principal  temple,  and  within  it  a  statue 
of  the  goddess  by  Polyclitus,  which  almost  rivalled  in  gran¬ 
deur  and  beauty  the  Zeus  at  Olympia,  by  Phidias.  Next 
came  Samos,  with  its  splendid  temple  erected  for  her  by 
Polycrates.  In  Corinth  also,  in  Euboea,  Boeotia,  Crete,  and 
even  in  Lacinium,  in  Italy,  she  had  temples  and  devotees. 


POSEIDON,  OR  NEPTUNE. 


61 


-i- 


* 


Juno,  the  Roman  equivalent  of  Hera,  was  mostly  regarded 
from  the  maternal  point  of  view,  and  in  accordance  with  that 
frequently  styled  Lucina,  the  helper  at  childbirth.  Temples 
were  erected  and  festivals  held  in  her  honor — of  the  festivals 
that  called  Matronalia  being  the  chief.  It  was  held  on 
March  1  of  each  year,  and  could  only  be  participated  in  by 
women,  who  went  with  girdles  loose,  and  on  the  occasion 
received  presents  from  husbands,  lovers,  or  friends,  making 
presents  in  turn  to  their  servants.  The  spirits  that  guarded 
over  women  were  called  in  early  times  Junones. 

The  image  of  Hera  is  said  to  have  consisted  at  first  of  a  long  pillar, 
as  in  Argos,  and  in  Samos  of  a  plank,  and  to  have  assumed  a  human 
form  only  in  comparatively  late  times.  The  statue  of  her  by  Poly¬ 
clitus,  mentioned  above,  was  of  gold  and  ivory  and  of  colossal  size. 
It  represented  her  seated  on  a  throne,  holding  in  one  hand  a  pome¬ 
granate,  the  symbol  of  marriage,  and  in  the  other  a  sceptre  on  which 
sat  a  cuckoo.  On  her  head  was  a  crown  ornamented  with  figures  of 
the  Charites  (Graces)  and  Horae.  We  can  still  in  some  measure 
recall  the  appearance  of  the  statue  from  the  marble  head  known  as 
the  Juno  Ludovisi,  from  the  coins  of  Argos,  and  from  several  ancient 
heads  in  marble  of  great  beauty.  Praxiteles  made  a  colossal  statue 
of  her  in  the  character  of  the  protectress  of  marriage  rites,  and  also 
a  group  of  her  seated,  with  Athene  and  Hebe  standing  beside  her. 
On  the  painted  vases  the  scene  in  which  she  most  frequently  occurs 
is  that  where  she  appears  before  Paris  to  be  judged  of  her  beauty. 

POSEIDON,  OR  NEPTUNE. 

It  has  already  been  told  how,  when  all  resources  had  failed 
which  the  Titans  could  bring  to  bear  for  tlie  restoration  of 
Cronus  to  the  throne,  the  government  of  the  world  was  divided 
by  lot  among  his  three  sons,  Zeus,  Poseidon,  Hades.  To 
Zeus  fell,  besides  a  general  supremacy,  the  control  of  the 
heavens;  and  we  have  seen  how  he  and  his  consort  Hera, 
representing  the  phenomena  of  that  region,  were  conceived 
as  divine  persons  possessed  of  a  character  and  performing 
actions  such  as  were  suggested  by  those  phenomena.  To 
Poseidon  (Neptune)  fell  the  control  of  the  element  of  water, 


HI 

(;  tsi 

m 

ii'vTC 

all 

P:fi 

Hi 

c:s 


52 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


and  he  in  like  manner  was  conceived  as  a  god,  in  whose 
character  and  actions  were  reflected  the  phenomena  of  that 
element,  whether  as  the  broad  navigable  sea,  or  as  the  cloud 
which  gives  fertility  to  the  earth,  growth  to  the  grain  and  vine, 
or  as  the  fountain  which  refreshes  man,  cattle,  and  horses. 
A  suitable  symbol  of  his  power,  therefore,  was  the  horse,  ad¬ 
mirably  adapted  as  it  is  both  for  labor  and  battle,  whilst  its 
swift  springing  movement  compares  finely  with  the  advance  of 
a  foaming  wave  of  the  sea.  He  yokes  to  the  chariot,” 
sings  Homer  in  the  Iliad,  his  swift  steeds,  with  feet  of 
brass  and  manes  of  gold,  and  himself  clad  in  gold,  drives 
over  the  waves.  The  beasts  of  the  sea  sport  around  him, 
leaving  their  lurking  places,  for  they  know  him  to  be  their 
lord.  The  sea  rejoices  and  makes  way  for  him.  His  horses 
speed  lightly,  and  never  a  drop  touches  the  brazen  axle.” 

It  may  have  been  to  illustrate  a  tendency  of  the  sea  to 
encroach  in  many  places  on  the  coast,  as  well  as  to  show  the 
importance  attached  to  a  good  supply  of  water,  that  the  myth 
originated  which  tells  us  of  the  dispute  between  Poseidon 
and  Athene  for  the  sovereignty  of  the  soil  of  Attica.  To 
settle  the  dispute,  it  was  agreed  by  the  gods  that  whichever 
of  the  two  should  perform  the  greatest  wonder,  and  at  the 
same  time  confer  the  most  useful  gift  on  the  land,  should  be 
entitled  to  rule  over  it.  With  a  stroke  of  his  trident  Posei¬ 
don  caused  a  brackish  spring  to  well  up  on  the  Acropolis  of 
Athens,  a  rock  400  feet  high,  and  previously  altogether  with¬ 
out  water.  But  Athene  in  her  turn  caused  the  first  olive  tree 
to  grow  from  the  same  bare  rock,  and  since  that  was  deemed 
the  greatest  benefit  that  could  be  bestowed,  obtained  for  all 
time  sovereignty  of  the  land,  which  Poseidon  thereupon 
spitefully  inundated. 

A  similar  dispute,  and  ending  also  unfavorably  for  him, 
was  that  which  he  had  with  Hera  concerning  the  district  of 
Argos.  But  in  this  case  his  indignation  took  the  opposite 
course  of  causing  a  perpetual  drought.  Other  incidents  of 
the  same  nature  were  his  disputes  with  Helios  for  the  pos- 


POSEIDON,  OR  NEPTUNE. 


53 


session  of  Corinth,  with  Zeus  for  Aegina,  with  Dionysus 
for  Naxos,  and  with  Apollo  for  Delphi.  The  most  obvious 
illustrations,  however,  of  the  encroaching  tendency  of  the 
sea  are  the  monsters  which  Poseidon  sent  to  lay  waste  coast 
lands,  such  as  those  which  Hesione  and  Andromeda  were 
offered  to  appease. 

In  the  Iliad  Poseidon  appears  only  in  his  capacity  of  ruler 
of  the  sea,  inhabiting  a  brilliant  palace  in  its  depths,  travers¬ 
ing  its  surface  in  a  chariot,  or  stirring  the  powerful  billows 
till  the  earth  shakes  as  they  crash  upon  the  shore.  This 


limitation  of  his  functions,  though  possibly  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  nature  of  the  poem,  is  remarkable  for  this  reason, 
that  among  the  earliest  myths  associated  with  his  worship 
are  those  in  which  he  is  represented  in  connection  with  well- 
watered  plains  and  valleys.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Lerna, 
in  the  parched  district  of  Argos,  he  had  struck  the  earth 
with  his  trident,  and  caused  three  springs  to  well  up  for  love* 
of  Amymone,  whom  he  found  in  distress,  because  she  could 
not  obtain  the  water  which  her  father  Danaus  had  sent  her 
to  fetcho  In  Thessaly  a  stroke  of  his  trident  had  broken 


54 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


through  the  high  mountains,  which  formerly  shut  in  the  whole 
country  and  caused  it  to  be  frequently  flooded  with  water. 
By  that  stroke  he  formed  the  pleasant  vale  of  Tempe,  through 
which  the  water  collecting  from  the  hills  might  flow  away. 
A  district  well  supplied  with  water  was  favorable  to  pasture 
and  the  rearing  of  horses,  and  in  this  way  the  horse  came  to 
be  doubly  his  symbol,  as  god  of  the  water  of  the  sea  and  on 
the  land.  In  Arcadia,  with  its  mountainous  land  and  fine 
streams  and  valleys,  he  was  worshipped  side  by  side  with  De¬ 
meter,  with  whom,  it  was  believed,  he  begat  that  winged  and 
wonderfully  fleet  horse  Arion.  In  Boeotia,  where  he  was 
also  worshipped,  the  mother  of  Arion  was  said  to  have  been 
Erinys,  to  whoni  he  had  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  horse. 
With  Medusa  he  became  the  father  of  the  winged  horse 
Pegasus,  which  was  watered  at  springs  by  Nymphs,  and 
appeared  to  poets  as  the  symbol  of  poetic  inspiration.  And 
again,  as  an  instance  of  his  double  capacity  as  god  of  the  sea 
and  pasture  streams,  the  ram,  with  the  golden  fleece  for  which 
the  Argonauts  sailed,  was  said  to  have  been  his  offspring  by 
Theophane,  who  had  been  changed  into  a  lamb.  Chief 
among  his  other  offspring  were,  on  the  one  hand,  the  giant 
Antaeus,  who  derived  from  his  mother  Earth  a  strength 
which  made  him  invincible,  till  Hercules  lifting  him  in  the 
air  overpowered  him,  and  the  Cyclops,  Polyphemus  ;  on  the 
other  hand,  Pelias,  who  sent  out  the  Argonauts,  and  Neleus, 
the  father  of  Nestor. 

To  return  to  the  instances  of  rebellious  conduct  on  the  part 
of  Poseidon,  it  appears  that  after  the  conclusion  of  the  war 
with  the  Giants  a  disagreement  arose  between  him  and  Zeus, 
the  result  of  which  was  that  Poseidon  was  suspended  for  the 
period  of  a  year  from  the  control  of  the  sea,  and  was  further 
obliged  during  the  time  to  serve,  along  with  Apollo,  Laome- 
don  the  King  of  Troy,  and  to  help  to  build  the  walls  of  that 
city.  Some  say  that  the  building  of  the  walls  was  voluntary 
on  the  part  of  both  gods,  and  was  done  to  test  the  character 
of  Laomedon,  who  afterward  refused  to  give  Poseidon  the 


POSEIDON,  OR  NEPTUNE. 


55 


reward  agreed  upon.  Angry  at  this,  the  god  devastated  the 
land  by  a  flood,  and  sent  a  sea  monster,  to  appease  which 
Laomedon  was  driven  to  offer  his  daughter  Hesione  as  a 
sacrifice.  Hercules,  however,  set  the  maiden  free  and  slew 
the  monster.  Thus  defeated,  Poseidon  relented  none  of  his 
indignation  toward  the  Trojans,  and  would  have  done  them 
much  injury  in  after  times,  when  they  were  at  war  with  the 
Greeks,  but  for  the  interference  of  Zeus. 

Though  worshipped  generally  throughout  Greece,  it  was  in 
the  seaport  towns  that  the  most  remarkable  zeal  was  displayed 
to  obtain  his  favor.  Temples  in  his  honor,  sanctuaries,  and 
public  rejoicings  were  to  be  met  with  in  Thessaly,  Boeotia, 
Arcadia,  at  Aegae,  and  Helice,  on  the  coast  of  Achaea,  at 
Pylos  in  Messenia,  at  Elis,  in  the  island  of  Samos,  at  Cor¬ 
inth,  Nauplia,  Troezen,  in  the  islands  of  Calauria,  Euboea, 
Scyros,  and  Tenos,  at  Mycale,  Taenarum,  Athens,  and  on  the 
Isthmus  that  belt  of  laud  which  connects  Peloponnesus  with 
the  rest  of  Greece.  In  the  island  of  Tenos  an  annual  festival 
was  held  in  his  honor,  at  which  he  was  worshipped  in  the 
character  of  a  physician.  People  crowded  to  the  festival 
from  neighboring  islands,  and  spent  the  time  in  banquets, 
sacrifice,  and  common  counsel.  But  chief  of  all  the  gather¬ 
ings  in  his  honor  was  that  held  on  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth 
in  the  autumn,  twice  in  each  Olympiad — a  festival  which 
had  been  established  by  Theseus,  and  in  reputation  stood 
next  to  the  Olympian  games,  like  them  also  serving  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  maintaining  among  the  Greeks  of  distant  regions  the 
consciousness  of  their  common  origin.  The  Corinthians  had 
the  right  of  arranging  and  managing  them,  the  Athenians 
having  also  certain  privileges.  It  was  in  his  double  capacity 
of  ruler  of  the  sea  and  as  the  first  to  train  and  employ  horses 
that  the  honors  of  this  festival  were  paid  to  him.  His  tem¬ 
ple,  with  the  other  sanctuaries,  stood  in  a  pine  grove,  a 
wreath  from  which  was  the  prize  awarded  to  the  victors. 
The  prize  had  originally  been  a  wreath  of  parsley.  In  this 
sacred  pine  grove  was  to  be  seen  the  Argo,  the  ship  of  the 


•  fV 


56 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


A-rg-onauts,  dedicated  to  Poseidon  as  a  memorial  of  the 
earliest  enterprise  at  sea ;  and  there  also  stood  the  colossal 
bronze  statue  of  the  god,  which  the  Greeks  raised  to  com¬ 
memorate  the  splendid  naval  victory  gained  over  the  Per¬ 
sians  at  Salamis.  Horses  and  bulls  were  sacrificed  to  him, 
the  method  of  performing  the  sacrifice  being  to  throw  them 
into  the  sea.  It  was  the  practice  of  fortunate  survivors  of 
shipwreck  to  hang  up  some  memento  of  their  safety  in  one 
of  his  temples.  The  Temples  of  Isis  in  particular,  whom 
they  worship  in  Greece  as  Pelagia,  were  thus  adorned  in 
Rome,  even  in  Republican  times.  Horace,  Vergil,  and  other 
poets  make  frequent  mention  of  hanging  their  wet  garments, 
in  which  they  had  been  saved  when  shipwrecked,  as  a  votive 
offering,  usually  accompanied  by  a  tablet  with  perhaps  name 
and  date. 

The  Romans,  living  mostly  as  herdsmen  and  farmers  in 
early  times,  had  little  occasion  to  propitiate  the  god  of  the 
sea,  and  it  was  probably,  therefore,  rather  as  the  father  of 
streams  that  they  erected  a  temple  to  Neptunus  in  the  Cam¬ 
pus  Martins,  and  held  a  festival  in  his  honor  attended  with 
games,  feasting,  and  enjoyment  like  that  of  a  fair. 

Between  Zeus  and  Poseidon  there  is,  in  works  of  art,  such  likeness 
as  would  be  expected  between  two  brothers.  But  Poseidon  is  by  far 
the  more  powerful  of  the  two  physically — his  build,  like  that  of 
Hercules,  expressing  the  greatest  conceivable  strength.  But  unlike 
Hercules,  his  attitudes  and  especially  his  head,  are  those  of  a  god, 
not  of  an  athlete.  His  features,  one  by  one,  resemble  those  of  Zeus, 
but  his  hair,  instead  of  springing  from  his  brow,  falls  in  thick  masses 
over  his  temples,  and  is  matted  from  the  water.  His  attributes  are  a 
trident  and  dolphin.  Possibly  the  sacred  figures  of  him  in  his  tem¬ 
ples  represented  him  seated  on  a  throne,  and  clad  in  the  Ionian  chiton. 
But  in  the  colossal  statues  of  him  erected  on  promontories  and  in 
harbors,  to  secure  his  favor,  he  was  always  standing  wearing  only  a 
slight  scarf,  which  concealed  none  of  his  powerful  form,  holding  out 
a  dolphin  in  his  left,  and  the  trident  in  his  right  hand,  often  with  one 
foot  raised  on  the  prow  of  a  vessel.  In  works  of  art  not  connected 
directly  with  his  worship  he  was  figured  traversing  the  sea  in  a  car 
drawn  by  Hippocampi,  or  other  fabulous  creatures  of  the  sea.  In  one 


HADES,  OR  PLUTO. 


67 

of  the  pediments  of  the  Parthenon  the  dispute  between  him  and 
Athene  was  represented. 

AMPHITRITE, 

The  rightful  wife  of  Poseidon  (Neptune),  was  the  goddess 
of  the  sea,  had  the  care  of  its  creatures,  could  stir  the  great 
waves,  and  hurl  them,  against  rocks  and  cliffs.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Oceanus  and  Tethys,  or,  according  to  another 
report,  of  Nereus  and  Doris.  Usually  she  was  represented 
with  flowing  hair  and  the  toes  of  a  crab  protruding  from  her 


Amphitrite. 


temples;  sometimes  seated  on  the  back  of  a  triton  or  other 
creature  of  the  deep,  alone  among  sea-animals  and  seaweed, 
or  accompanying  Poseidon.  She  may  be  compared  with  the 
sea-goddess  of  the  Romans,  Salacia,  Neverita,  and  Venilia. 

HADES,  OR  PLUTO. 

We  have  seen  how  Zeus,  Hera,  and  Poseidon  came  to  be 
conceived  as  the  three  great  deities  who  between  them  con¬ 
trolled  the  elements  of  heaven,  sky,  and  sea,  and  how  a  char¬ 
acter  came  to  be  ascribed  to  each  of  them  such  as  was  most 
naturally  suggested  by  the  phenomena  of  the  provinces  of 


«rl 

Kl  V  HIV 

({"i-a 

m 

•tf’iC 

'C:r» 

I  if 
01 
fl 

if 


1 

I 


t 


58 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


the  world  in  which  they  respectively  ruled.  But  there  still 
remained  a  region  which  could  not  escape  the  observation  of 
people  like  the  Greeks,  gifted  with  so  keen  a  sense  of  the 
various  operations  of  nature.  That  region  was,  however, 
itself  invisible,  being  under  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The 
growth  of  vegetation  was  seen  to  be  steadily  upward,  as  if 
impelled  by  some  divine  force  below.  The  metals  which 
experience  showed  to  be  most  precious  to  mankind  could  onlj 
be  obtained  by  digging  into  that  dark  region  under  the  earth. 
Thither  returned,  after  its  day  on  earth  was  spent,  everj 
form  of  life.  In  conceiving  a  god  who  should  be  supreme 
in  the  management  of  this  region,  it  was  necessary  to  attrib¬ 
ute  a  double  character  to  him  :  first,  as  the  source  of  all  the 
treasures  and  wealth  of  the  earth,  as  expressed  in  his  name 
Pluton  (Pluto);  and  secondly,  as  monarch  of  the  dark  realm 
inhabited  by  the  invisible  shades  of  the  dead,  as  expressed 
in  his  name  of  Aides  (Hades). 

While  by  virtue  of  his  power  of  giving  fertility  to  vegeta¬ 
tion,  of  swelling  the  seed  cast  into  the  furrows  of  the  earth, 
and  of  yielding  treasures  of  precious  metal,  he  was  justly 
viewed  as  a  benevolent  deity  and  a  true  friend  of  man,  there 
was  another  and  very  grim  side  to  his  character,  in  which 
he  appears  as  the  implacable,  relentless  god,  whom  no  cost  of 
sacrifice  could  persuade  to  permit  any  one  who  had  once  passed 
his  gates  ever  to  return.  For  this  reason,  to  die,  to  go  to 
Hades’s  house,  to  pass  out  of  sight,  to  be  lost  in  the  dark¬ 
ness  of  the  lower  world,  was  looked  forward  to  as  the  dismal 
inevitable  fate  awaiting  all  men.  Yet  there  must  have  been 
some  consolation  in  the  belief  that  the  life  thus  claimed  by 
him  had  been  originally  his  gift,  as  were  the  means  of  com¬ 
fort  and  pleasure  in  life  thus  cut  off.  In  later  times,  when 
the  benevolent  side  of  his  character  came  more  into  view, 
assuring  hopes  arose  concerning  a  future  happy  life  that 
robbed  death  of  its  terrors.  To  impart  such  hopes  was  the 
purpose  of  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries. 

It  seems  to  have  been  to  make  this  union  of  two  such 


hades,  on  PLUTO, 


59 


opposite  powers  in  the  person  of  one  god  more  explicit  that 
the  myth  concerning  his  marriage  with  Persephone  orig¬ 
inated,  she  being,  as  we  shall  afterward  see,  a  personification 
of  young  blooming  life.  The  grim  god  of  the  dead  carries 
off  by  force  a  young 
goddess  full  of  life 
But  no  new  life  is* 
sues  from  the  mar¬ 
riage.  Yet  she  loved 
him,  it  would  seem; 
for  when  her  mother. 

Demeter  (Ceres), 
implored  her  to  come 
back  to  earth,  her 
answer  was  that  she 
had  accepted  from 
her  husband  the  half 
of  a  pomegranate,  or 
apple  of  love  as  it 
was  called,  and  had 
eaten  it.  It  is  ap¬ 
parently  in  reference 
to  this  that  both 
Hades  and  Perseph¬ 
one  are  represented 
in  works  of  art  hold¬ 
ing  each  a  fruit. 

Hades,  being  a 
son  of  Rhea  and 
Cronus,  was  enti¬ 
tled,  after  the  dethronement  of  the  latter,  to  a  share  along  with 
his  two  brothers,  Zeus  and  Poseidon,  in  the  management  of 
the  world.  They  cast  lots,  and  to  Hades  fell  the  dominion 
over  the  lower  world.  The  importance  assigned  to  his  domin¬ 
ion  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  of  itg  monarch  being  a 

Murray — 6 


Hades  Throned. 


m 

c 

iiiS 

'Cirs 

Ifjt 

11 

I 

ifpt  '9^ 


60 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


brother  of  Zeus,  and  styled,  too,  sometimes,  Zeus  of  the 
lower  world/ ^ 

With  regard  to  the  region  where  the  realm  of  Hades  was 
to  be  looked  for  we  find  the  ancient  authorities  at  variance, 
some  representing  it  as  in  the  under-world  proper — that  is, 
under  the  crust  of  the  earth,  others  in  the  remote  west,  in 
Oceanus,  where  were  the  gloomy  groves  of  Persephone.  It 
was  entered  from  the  upper  world  by  any  spot  of  sufficiently 
sombre  or  wild  natural  aspect,  particularly  chasms  with  dark 
waters  such  as  inspire  terror.  The  most  celebrated  place  of 
this  kind  was  Lake  Avernus,  at  Cumae  in  Italy,  of  which 
it  was  said,  as  of  the  dead  sea,  that  no  bird  tried  to  fly  across 
it  but  fell  lifeless  in  its  waters.  Beyond  these  entrances  was 
an  open  gate  through  which  all  comers  had  to  pass,  and 
having  passed  could  not,  as  a  ride,  retrace  a  step.  Excep¬ 
tions  to  the  rule  were  made  in  favor  of  heroes  such  as  Her¬ 
cules  and  Orpheus,  who  were  permitted  to  visit  the  home  of 
the  dead,  and  return  alive.  The  entrance  was  guarded  by 
the  dog  of  Hades,  the  dreaded  Cerberus,  a  monster  witli 
three  heads  and  a  serpent’s  tail,  fawning  on  those  who 
entered,  but  showing  his  horrible  teeth  to  those  who  tried  to 
pass  out.  But  besides  by  this  gateway,  the  lower  was  sepa¬ 
rated  from  the  upper  world  by  rivers  with  impetuous  tor¬ 
rents,  of  which  the  most  famous  was  the  Styx,  a  stream  of 
such  terrible  aspect  that  even  the  highest  gods  invoked  it  as 
witness  of  the  truth  of  their  oaths.  Across  this  river  the 
departed  were  conveyed  by  an  aged  ferryman  appointed  by 
the  gods,  and  called  Charon,  but  not  until  their  bodies  had 
been  buried  in  the  earth  above  with  all  due  ceremony  of  sac¬ 
rifice  and  marks  of  affection.  Till  this  was  done  the  souls 
of  the  departed  had  to  wander  listlessly  about  the  farther 
bank  of  the  Styx,  a  })rospect  which  was  greatly  dreaded  by 
the  ancients.  For  the  ferry  Charon  exacted  a  toll  (naulon), 
to  pay  which  a  piece  of  money  (danake)  was  placed  in  the 
mouth  of  the  dead  at  burial. 

The  other  rivers  of  the  under- world  were  named  Acheron 


HADES,  OB  PLUTO. 


61 


—that  is,  the  river  of  eternal  woe;^^  Pyriphlegethon,  the 
stream  of  fire;  and  Cocytus,  the  river  of  weeping  and 
wailing.'^  To  these  is  added  by  a  later  myth,  Lethe,  the 
river  of  ^^forgetfulness — so  called  because  its  waters  were 
believed  to  possess  the  property  of  causing  the  departed  who 
drank  of  them  to  forget  altogether  their  former  circumstances 
in  the  upper  world.  The  purport  of  this  myth  was  to  explain 
and  establish  the  idea  that  the  dead  could  not  take  with  them 
into  the  realm  of  everlasting  peace  the  consciousness  of  the 
pains  and  sorrows  of  their  lot  on  earth.  In  the  waters  of  Lethe 
they  drank  a  happy  oblivion  of  all  past  suffering,  wants,  and 
troubles  an  idea  of  the  means  of  forgetting  sorrow  which 
later  poets  have  made  frequent  use  of. 

In  the  last  book  of  the  Odyssey  the  souls  of  the  slain 
suitors,  conceived  as  small  winged  beings,  are  described  as 
being  conducted  to  the  realm  of  Hades  by  Hermes  (Mer¬ 
cury)  in  his  capacity  of  Psychopompos.  The  way  is  dark 
and  gloomy.  They  pass  the  streams  of  Oceanus,  the  white 
rock,  the  gates  of  Helios,  the  people  of  dreams,  and  at  last 
reach  the  Asphodel  meadow,  where  the  spirits  of  the  dead 
inhabit  subterraneous  caves. 

With  regard  to  the  condition  of  the  dead  under  the  domin¬ 
ion  of  Hades,  the  belief  was  that  they  led  a  shadowy  sort  of 
apparent  life,  in  which,  as  mere  reflections  of  their  former 
selves,  they  continued  as  in  a  dream,  at  any  rate  without  dis¬ 
tinct  consciousness,  to  perform  the  labors  and  carry  on  the 
occupations  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed  on  earth. 
It  was  only  to  favored  individuals  like  the  Theban  seer, 
Tiresias,  of  whom  we  have  more  to  say  afterward,  that  the 
privilege  of  complete  consciousness  was  granted.  Such  was 
the  sad  condition  of  the  dead;  and  how  they  bore  it  may  be 
guessed  from  the  complaint  of  Achilles  to  Odysseus,  in  the 
Odyssey:  I  would  rather  toil  as  a  day-laborer  on  the  earth 

than  reign  here  a  prince  of  dead  multitudes.''  Occasionally 
the  shades  of  the  dead  were  permitted  to  appear  to  their 
friends  on  earth.  It  was  also  possible  to  summon  them  by 


62 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


a  sacrifice,  the  blood  of  which,  when  they  had  drunk  of  it, 
restored  eonscioiisness  and  speech,  so  as  to  enable  them  to 
communicate  with  the  living. 

AVe  must,  however,  clearly  distinguish  between  this  under¬ 
world  as  the  abiding  place  of  the  great  mass  of  the  dead, 
and  two  other  regions  where  spirits  of  the  departed  were  to 
be  found — the  one  Elysium  (the  Elysian  Fields),  with  the 
islands  of  the  blest,  and  the  other  Tartarus.  The  former 
region  was  most  commonly  placed  in  the  remotest  West,  and 
the  latter  as  far  below  the  earth  as  the  heavens  are  above  it. 
In  early  times  it  appears  to  have  been  believed  that  Elysium 


and  the  happy  islands  were  reserved  less  for  the  virtuous 
and  good  than  for  certain  favorites  of  the  gods.  There, 
under  the  sovereignty  of  Cronus,  they  lived  again  a  kind  of 
second  golden  age  of  perpetual  duration.  But  in  later  times 
there  spread  more  and  more  the  belief  in  a  happy  immor¬ 
tality  reserved  for  all  the  good,  and  particularly  for  those 
who  had  been  initiated  into  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries.  Tar¬ 
tarus,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  region  where  those  were 
condemned  to  punishment  who  had  committed  any  crime 
against  the  gods  while  on  earth.  What  was  the  misery  of 
their  condition  we  shall  be  able  to  judge  from  the  following 


HADES,  OR  PLUTO. 


63 


account  of  a  few  of  the  best  known  of  those  condemned  to 
such  punishment,  as  Tantalus,  Ixion,  Sisyphus,  Tityus, 
and  the  Danaides. 

Tantalus,  once  a  king  of  Phrygia,  had  given  offence  to 
the  gods  by  his  overbearing  and  treachery,  as  well  as  by  the 
t  cruelty  which  he  had  practised  on  his  own  son.  For  this  he 
was  doomed  to  Tartarus,  and  there  to  suffer  from  an  unceasing 
dread  of  being  crushed  by  a  great  rock  that  hung  above  his 
head,  he  the  while  standing  up  to  the  throat  in  water,  yet 
possessed  of  a  terrible  thirst  which  he  could  never  quench, 
and  a  gnawing  hunger  which  he  tried  in  vain  to  allay  with 
the  tempting  fruits  that  hung  over  his  head  but  withdrew  at 
every  approach  he  made. 

Ixion,  once  a  sovereign  of  Thessaly,  had,  like  Tantalus, 
outraged  the  gods,  and  was,  in  consequence,  sentenced  to  Tar¬ 


tarus,  there  to  be  lashed  with  serpents  to  a  wheel  which  a 
strong  wind  drove  continually  round  and  round. 

Sisyphus,  once  king  of  Corinth,  had  by  treachery  and 
hostility  incurred  the  anger  of  the  gods  in  a  high  degree,  and 
was  punished  in  Tartarus  by  having  to  roll  a  huge  stone  up 
a  height,  which  he  had  no 
sooner  done,  by  means  of 
his  utmost  exertion,  than  it 
rolled  down  again. 

Tityus,  a  giant  who  once 
lived  in  Euboea,  had  mis¬ 
used  his  strength  to  outrage 
Leto  (the  mother  of  Apollo 
and  Artemis),  and  was  con¬ 
demned  by  Zeus  to  Tartarus,  =^^1 
where  two  enormous  vul-  ./'i 
tures  gnawed  continually 

liis  liver,  which  always  grew  Danaides. 

again. 

The  Danaides,  daughters  of  Danaus,  king  of  Argos,  were 
sentenced  to  Tartarus  for  the  murder  of  their  husbands.  The 


m  ill*" 

HI  * 


64 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


punishment  prescribed  for  them  was  to  carry  water,  and  con¬ 
tinue  to  pour  it  into  a  broken  cistern  or  vase,  the  labor  being 
all  in  vain,  and  going  on  forever. 

Hades  (Pluto)  and  Persephone  (Proserpina),  however, 
were  not  only  rulers  over  the  souls  of  the  departed,  but  were 
also  believed  to  exercise  the  function  of  judges  of  mankind 
after  death.  In  this  task  they  were  assisted  by  three  heroes 
who  while  on  earth  had  been  conspicuous  for  wisdom  and 
justice — Minos,  Rhadamanthus,  and  Aeacus,  the  last  being 
also,  apart  from  this,  the  gate-keeper  of  the  lower  region, 
according  to  a  later  opinion. 

Both  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans  the  worship  of  Plu- 
ton-Hades  was  wide-spread,  and  the  honors  paid  him  great. 
In  Greece,  his  principal  temples  were  at  Pylos,  Athens,  and 
Olympia  in  Elis.  The  cypress,  narcissus,  and  boxwood  were 
sacred  to  him.  In  Rome  a  great  festival  was  held  in  his 
honor  in  the  month  of  February,  at  which  sacrifices  [febru- 
ationes)  of  black  bulls  and  goats  were  offered,  and  the  offici¬ 
ating  priests  wore  wreaths  of  cypress,  the  whole  ceremony 
extending  over  twelve  nights.  The  Saecular  Games,  which 
were  held  once  in  a  century,  were  in  his  honor,  and  as  a 
tribute  to  the  dead.  Their  origin  was  lost  in  antiquity  even 
in  the  time  of  Augustus.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  first 
celebration  took  place  in  the  consulship  of  Valerius  Publi- 
cola,  to  avert  a  plague;  the  last  was  celebrated  in  the  reign 
of  Philippus,  A.  D.  248. 

In  works  of  art  Hades  is  represented  as  having  inherited  the  same 
type  of  face  as  his  brothers  Zeus  and  Poseidon,  differing  only  in  a 
certain  grimness  of  expression.  His  hair  shades  his  brow  in  heavy 
masses.  In  attitude  he  is  either  seated  on  a  throne  with  Persephone 
by  his  side,  or  standing  in  a  chariot  and  carrying  her  off.  His  attri¬ 
butes  are  a  sceptre  like  that  of  Zeus,  and  a  helmet,  which,  like  the 
cloud  cap  of  Siegfried  in  German  mythology,  made  its  wearer  invis¬ 
ible.  His  attendant  is  the  three-headed  dog  Cerberus.  On  the  painted 
vases  scenes  of  torment  in  Tartarus  are  not  unfrequent — such,  for 
example,  as  the  Danaides  pouring  water  into  the  broken  vase,  or  Ixion 
bound  to  the  wheel,  or  Sisyphus  pushing  up  the  stone :  Hercules  car- 


PERSEPHONE,  OR  PROSERPINA. 


65 


rying  off  Cerberus,  and  Orpheus  on  his  memorable  visit  to  bring  back 
Eurydice,  are  also  represented  on  the  vases. 


PERSEPHONE,  OR  PROSERPINA, 

Or  Persephoneia,  also  called  Cora  by  the  Greeks,  and  by 
the  Romans  Libera,  was  a  daughter  of  Zeus  and  Demeter, 
and  the  wife  of  Aides  (Hades),  the  marriage  being  childless. 
Struck  with  the  charms  of  her  virgin  beauty.  Hades  had 
obtained  the  sanction  of  his  brother  Zeus  to  carry  her  off  by 
force;  and  for  this  purpose,  as  the  myth  relates,  he  suddenly 
rose  up  from  a  dark  hole  in  the  earth  near  to  where  she  was 
wandering  in  a  flowery  meadow  not  far  from  Aetna  in 
Sicily,  plucking  and  gathering  the  narcissus,  seized  the  lovely 
flower-gatherer,  and  made  off  with  her  to  the  under- world  in 
a  chariot  drawn  by  four  swift  horses,  Hermes  (Mercury)  lead¬ 
ing  the  way.  Persephone  resisted,  begged,  and  implored 
gods  and  men  to  help  her;  but  Zeus  approving  the  transac¬ 
tion  let  it  pass.  In  vain  Demeter  (Ceres)  searched  for  her 
daughter,  traversing  every  land,  or,  as  other  myths  say,  pur¬ 
suing  the  escaped  Hades  with  her  yoke  of  winged  serpents, 
till  she  learned  what  had  taken  place  from  the  all-seeing  and 
all-hearing  god  of  the  sun.  Then  she  entreated  with  tears 
the  gods  to  give  her  daughter  back,  and  this  they  promised 
to  do  provided  she  had  not  as  yet  tasted  of  anything  in  the 
under-world.  But  by  the  time  that  Hermes,  who  had  been 
sent  by  Zeus  to  ascertain  this,  reached  the  under- world,  she 
had  eaten  the  half  of  a  pomegranate  which  Hades  had  given 
her  as  an  expression  of  love.  For  this  reason  the  return  of 
Persephone  to  the  upper-world  for  good  became  impossible. 
She  must  remain  the  wife  of  Hades.  An  arrangement  was, 
however,  come  to,  by  which  she  was  to  be  allowed  to  stay 
with  her  mother  half  the  year  on  earth  and  among  the  gods 
of  Olympus,  while  the  other  half  of  the  year  was  to  be  spent 
with  her  husband  below. 

In  this  myth  of  Persephone-Cora,  daughter  of  Zeus,  the 
god  of  the  heavens,  which  by  their  warmth  and  rain  pro- 


(t  >  kW 

•Lie 


1 

•  * 

66  DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 

duce  fertility,  and  of  Demeter  (Ceres),  the  maternal  goddess 
of  the  fertile  earth,  we  see  that  she  was  conceived  as  a  divine 
personification  of  the  process  of  vegetation  —  in  summer  [ 


appearing  beside  her  mother  in  the  light  of  the  upper  world, 
but  in  the  autumn  disappearing,  and  in  winter  passing  her 
time,  like  the  seed,  under  the  earth  with  the  god  of  the  lower 
world.  The  decav  observed  throughout  Nature  in  autumn, 


PERSEPHONE,  OR  PROSERPINA.  67 

the  suspension  of  vegetation  in  winter,  impressed  the  ancients., 
as  it  impresses  us  and  strikes  modern  poets,  as  a  moral  of 


Pluto  and  Persephone. 

the  transitoriness  of  all  earthly  life;  and  hence  the  carvyi^ig 
off  of  Persephone  appeared  to  be  simply  a  symbol  of  death. 


68 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


But  the  myth  at  the  same  time  suggests  hope,  and  proclaims 
the  belief  that  out  of  death  springs  a  new  life,  but  apparently 


The  Abduction  of  Persephone, 


not  a  productive  life,  and  that  men  carried  off  by  the  god  of 
tlie  under-world  will  not  forever  remain  in  the  unsubstantial 


DEMETER,  OR  CERES. 


69 


region  of  the  shades.  Tins  at  least  appears  to  have  been  the 
sense  in  which  the  mytli  of  Persephone  and  her  mother  was 
presented  to  those  initiated  into  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries, 
which,  as  we  have  remarked  before,  held  out  assuring  hopes 
of  the  imperishableness  of  human  existence,  and  of  an  eternal 
real  life  to  follow  after  death. 

As  queen  of  the  shades  Persephone  had  control  over  the 
various  dreaded  beings  whose  occuaption,  like  that  of  the 
i  Sirens,  was  to  beguile  men  to  their  death,  or  like  that  of  the 
Erinys,  to  avenge  murder  and  all  base  crimes.  She  shared 
the  honors  paid  to  her  husband  in  Greece,  lower  Italy,  and 
especially  in  the  island  of  Sicily.  Temples  of  great  beauty 
were  erected  for  her  in  the  Greek  Locri,  and  at  Cyzicus  on 
the  Propontis.  The  principal  festivals  held  in  her  honor  in 
'  Greece  occurred  in  the  autumn  or  in  spring,  the  visitors  at 
the  former  appearing  dressed  in  mourning  to  commemorate 
her  being  carried  off  by  Pluto,  while  at  the  spring  festival 
I  all  wore  holiday  garments  to  commemorate  her  return. 

There  remains,  however,  the  important  phase  of  her  char- 
;  acter  in  which  she  returns  to  the  upper-world  and  is  asso- 
<  ciated  with  her  mother  Pemeter.  But  this  it  will  be  more 
I  convenient  to  consider  in  the  next  chapter.  The  attributes 
I  of  Persephone  were  ears  of  corn  and  poppies.  Her  attribute 
i  as  the  wife  of  Hades  was  a  pomegranate;  her  sacrifice  con- 
^  sisted  of  cows  and  pigs.  In  works  of  art  she  has  a  more 
'  youthful  appearance,  but  otherwise  closely  resembles  her 
I  mother  Demeter.  The  Roman  Proserpina,  though  the  name 
i  is  clearly  the  same  as  Persephone,  appears  to  have  had  no 
I  hold  on  the  religious  belief  of  the  Roman  nation,  their  god¬ 
dess  of  the  shades  being  Libitina. 


DEMETER,  OR  CERES, 

A  daughter  of  Cronus  and  Rhea,  was  the  goddess  of  the 
earth  in  its  capacity  of  bringing  forth  countless  fruits,  the 
all-nourisliing  mother,  and  above  all  the  divine  being  who 


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70 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


watched  over  the  growth  of  grains  and  the  various  products 
of  vegetation  most  important  to  man.  The  first  and  grand 
thought  in  her  worship  was  the  mysterious  evolution  of  life 
out  of  the  seed  which  is  cast  into  the  ground  and  suffered  to 
rot — a  process  of  nature  which  both  St.  Paul  (1  Corinthians 
XV.  35)  and  St.  John  (xii.  24)  compare  with  the  attainment 
of  a  new  life  through  Christ.  The  seed  left  to  rot  in  the 
ground  was  in  the  keeping  of  her  daughter  Persephone,  the 
goddess  of  the  lower  world,  the  new  life  which  sprang  from 
it  was  the  gift  of  Demeter  herself;  and  from  this  point  of 
view  the  two  goddesses,  mother  and  daughter,  were  insep¬ 
arable.  They  were  regarded  as  two  in  one,’^  and  styled 

the  great  deities.^ ^ 

From  being  conceived  as  the  cause  of  growth  in  the  grain 
Demeter  next  came  to  be  looked  on  as  having  first  introduced 
the  art  of  agriculture,  and  as  being  the  source  of  the  wealth 
and  blessings  which  attended  the  diligent  practice  of  that  art. 

When  Hades  carried  off  her  young  loved  daughter.  Dem¬ 
eter,  with  a  rnother’s  sorrow,  lit  her  torch,  and  mounting  her 
car  drawn  by  winged  snakes,  drove  through  all  lands  search¬ 
ing  for  her,  leaving,  wherever  she  rested  and  was  hospitably 
received,  traces  of  her  blessing  in  the  form  of  instruction  in 
the  art  of  agriculture.  But  nowhere  in  Greece  did  her  bless¬ 
ing  descend  so  richly  as  in  the  district  of  Attica;  for  there 
Celeus,  of  Eleusis,  a  spot  not  far  from  Athens,  had  received 
her  with  most  cordial  hospitality.  In  return  for  this  she 
taught  him  the  use  of  the  plough,  and  before  departing  pre¬ 
sented  to  his  son,  Triptolemus,  whom  she  had  nursed,  the 
seed  of  the  barley  along  with  her  snake-drawn  car,  in  order 
that  he  might  traverse  all  lands,  teaching  by  the  way  man¬ 
kind  how  to  sow  and  to  utilize  the  grain,  a  task  which  Trip¬ 
tolemus  performed  faithfully,  and  so  extended  the  art  of 
agriculture  to  most  distant  lands. 

In  Arcadia,  Crete,  and  Samothrace  we  find  her  associated 
with  a  mythical  hero  called  Jasion,  reputed  to  have  been  the 
first  sower  of  grain,  to  whom  she  bore  a  child,  whose  name 


M  ,1  ft- 

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a  legend  of  her  hostility  to  a  hero  sometimes  called  Erysich- 
thon  ^'the  earth  upturner/^  or  ^^the  ploughman/^  and  some¬ 
times  Aethon,  a  personification  of  famine.  Again  we  find  a 


DEMETER,  OR  CERES.  7X 

of  Plutus  shows  him  to  be  a  personification  of  the  wealth 
'Icrived  from  the  cultivation  of  grain.  In  Thessaly  there  was 


Demeter,  or  Ceres. 


72 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


reference  to  her  function  as  goddess  of  agriculture  in  the 
story  that  once,  when  Poseidon  threatened  with  his  superior 
strength  to  mishandle  her,  Demeter  took  the  form  of  a  horse 
and  fled  from  him;  but  the  god,  taking  the  same  shape,  pur¬ 
sued  and  overtook  her,  the  result  being  that  she  afterward 
bore  him  Arion,  a  wonderful  black  horse  of  incredible  speed, 
and  gifted  with  intelligence  and  speech  like  a  man.  Pain 
and  shame  at  the  birth  of  such  a  creature  drove  her  to  hide 
for  a  long  time  in  a  cave,  till  at  last  she  was  purified  by  a 
bath  in  the  river  Ladon,  and  again  appeared  among  the  other 
deities.  From  the  necessities  of  agriculture  originated  the 
custom  of  living  in  settled  communities.  It  was  Demeter 
who  first  inspired  mankind  with  an  interest  in  property  and 
the  ownership  of  land,  who  created  the  feeling  of  patriotism 
and  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order. 

The  next  phase  of  her  character  was*that  which  came  into 
prominence  at  harvest  time,  when  the  bare  stubble-fields 
reminded  her  worshippers  of  the  loss  of  her  daughter  Per¬ 
sephone.  At  that  time  two  kinds  of  festivals  were  held  in 
her  honor,  the  one  kind  called  Haloa  or  Thalysia,  being 
apparently  mere  harvest  festivals,  the  other  called  Thesmo- 
phoria,  which  was  significant  of  the  introduction  of  civiliza¬ 
tion,  of  which  Demeter  always  stood  as  an  exponent.  As 
conducted  in  the  village  of  Halimus  in  Attica,  we  know  that 
it  was  held  from  the  9th  to  the  13th  of  October  of  each  year, 
that  it  could  only  be  participated  in  by  married  women,  that 
at  one  stage  of  the  proceedings  Demeter  was  hailed  as  the 
mother  of  the  beautiful  child,  and  that  this  joy  afterward 
gave  way  to  expressions  of  the  deepest  grief  at  her  loss  of 
her  daughter.  At  night  orgies  were  held  at  which  mysteri¬ 
ous  ceremonies  were  mixed  with  boisterous  amusements  of 
all  sorts.  The  Thesmoi  or  institutions’’  from  which  she 
derived  the  title  of  Thesmophoros  appear  to  have  referred 
to  married  life. 

We  have  no  means  of  knowing  to  what  extent  the  ancient 
Greeks  based  their  belief  in  a  happy  existence  hereafter  on 


DEMETER,  OR  CERES. 


73 


tho  mystGnous  evolution  of  life  from  the  seed  rotting^  in  the 
ground,  which  the  early  Christians  adopted  as  an  illustration 
of  the  grand  change  to  which  they  looked  forward.  But 
that  the  myth  of  the  carrying  off  of  Persephone,  her  gloomy 


existence  under  the  ground,  and  her  cheerful  return,  orig¬ 
inated  in  the  contemplation  of  this  natural  process,  is  clear 
from  the  fact  that  at  Eleusis  Eemeter  and  Persephone  always 
retained  the  character  of  seed  goddesses,  side  by  side  with 
their  more  conspicuous  character  as  deities  in  whose  story 
were  reflected  the  various  scenes  through  which  those  mortals 
would  have  to  pass  who  were  initiated  into  the  Mysteries  of 
Eleusis.  These  mysteries  had  been  instituted  by  Demeter 

Murray — 7 


74 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


herself,  and  whatever  rites  they  may  have  consisted  in,  we 
know  from  the  testimony  of  men  like  Pindar  and  Aeschylus, 
who  had  been  initiated,  that  they  were  well  calculated  to 
awaken  most  profound  feelings  of  piety  and  a  cheerful  hope 
of  better  life  in  future.  It  is  believed  that  the  ceremony  of 
initiation  consisted,  not  in  instruction  as  to  what  to  believe  or 
how  to  act  to  be  worthy  of  her  favor,  but  in  elaborate  and 
prolonged  representations  of  the  various  scenes  and  acts  on 
earth  and  under  it  connected  with  the  myth  of  the  carrying 
off  of  Persephone.  The  ceremony  took  place  at  night,  and 
it  is  probable  that  advantage  was  taken  of  the  darkness  to 
make  the  scenes  in  the  lower  world  more  hideous  and  impres¬ 
sive.  Probably  these  representations  were  reserved  for  the 
Epoptae  or  persons  in  the  final  stage  of  initiation.  Those 
in  the  earlier  stages  were  called  Mystae.  Associated  with 
Demeter  and  Persephone  in  the  worship  at  Eleusis  was  Dio¬ 
nysus  in  his  youthful  character  and  under  the  name  of  Jac- 
chus.  But  at  what  time  this  first  took  place,  whether  it  was 
due  to  some  affinity  in  the  orgiastic  nature  of  his  worship, 
or  rather  to  his  local  connection  with  Attica  as  god  of  the 
vine,  is  not  known. 

Two  festivals  of  this  kind,  Eleusinia,  were  held  annually 
— the  lesser  in  spring,  when  the  earliest  flowers  appeared,  and 
the  greater  in  the  month  of  September.  The  latter  occupied 
nine  days,  commencing  on  the  night  of  the  20th  with  a  torch¬ 
light  procession.  Though  similar  festivals  existed  in  various 
parts  of  Greece  and  even  of  Italy,  those  of  Eleusis  in  Attica 
continued  to  retain  something  like  national  importance,  and 
from  the  immense  coneourse  of  people  who  came  to  take  part 
in  them,  were  among  the  principal  attractions  of  Athens. 
The  duties  of  high  priest  were  vested  in  the  family  of  Eumol- 
pidae,  whose  ancestor  Eumolpus,  according  to  one  account, 
had  been  installed  in  the  office  by  Demeter  herself.  The 
festival  was  brought  to  a  close  by  games,  among  which  was 
that  of  bull-baiting. 

In  Italy  a  festival  founded  on  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries  and 


DEMETER,  OR  CERES. 


75 


conducted  in  the  Greek  manner  was  held  in  honor  of 
Bacchus  and  Ceres,  or  Liber  and  Libera  as  they  were  called. 
It  appears,  however, 
to  have  never  com¬ 
manded  the  same 
respect  as  the  origi¬ 
nal.  For  we  find 
Romans  who  had 
visited  Greece,  and 
like  Cicero  been  in¬ 
itiated  at  Eleusis, 
returning  with  a 
strong  desire  to  see 
the  Eleusinian  cere¬ 
monies  transplanted 
to  Rome.  Alto¬ 
gether  it  is  proba¬ 
ble  that  the  Roman 
Ceres  was  but  a 
weak  counterpart  of 
the  Greek  Demeter. 

The  attributes  of 
Demeter,  like  those 
of  Persephone,  were 
ears  of  corn  and 
poppies;  on  her  head 
she  wore  a  modius  or 


Demeter,  or  Ceres. 


corn  measure  as  a  symbol  of  the  fertility  of  the  earth.  Her 
^sacrifice  consisted  of  cows  and  pigs. 


Statues  that  can  positively  be  assigned  to  Demeter  are  very  rare, 
dhe  best  by  far  being  that  found  at  Cnidus  and  now  in  the  British 
Museum,  which  represents  her  seated,  draped,  and  with  a  veil  falling 
from  the  back  of  her  head.  On  her  head  is  neither  the  modius  nor 
dhe  crown  which  she  also  wears  sometimes.  On  the  painted  vases, 
however,  figures  of  her  are  less  rare.  On  a  vase  in  the  British 
Museum  she  appears  beside  Triptolemus,  who  is  seated  in  the  winged 
car  which  she  gave  him.  On  another  vase,  also  in  the  national  col- 


76 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


lection,  we  find  the  scene  at  the  institution  of  the  Eleusinian  Mys-  j 
teries.  In  the  centre  is  Triptolemus  seated  in  the  car ;  before  him  i 
Persephone  (here  called  Pherephatta,  a  more  ancient  form  of  her  i 
name),  and  a  rigure  called  Eleusis  ;  behind  him  Demeter  and  Eumol-  I 
pus ;  on  the  other  side  of  the  vase  are  Zeus,  Dionysus,  Poseidon,  and 
Amphitrite.  A  marble  relief,  found  at  Eleusis,  represents,  it  is  be¬ 
lieved,  Demeter,  Persephone,  and  the  youthful  Jacchus.  ' 

HECATE,  ' 

Though,  properly  speaking,  not  one  of  the  supreme  order  of 
deities,  is  entitled  to  be  placed  here  on  account  of  a  resem-  | 

blance  to  Persephone  in 
her  mysterious  fuctions 
both  in  the  upper  and 
lower  world.  She  is  a 
goddess  of  Titanic  ori¬ 
gin,  daughter  of  Tar¬ 
tarus  and  Night,  or  of  ; 
Perses  and  Asteria  > 
(Starry-Night),  the  sis¬ 
ter  of  Leto,  according 
to  other  accounts.  The 
stories  current  among  ; 
the  ancients  concerning 
her  vary  greatly,  and 
often  confuse  her  with 
other  deities,  especially 
those  of  the  night,  such 
as  Selene  or  Luna,  the 
goddess  of  the  moon, 
while  standing  to  Per¬ 
sephone  in  the  relation 
of  servant  or  companion. 
She  belongs  to  the  class 
of  torchbearing  deities,  like  Artemis,  and  was  conceived  as 
carrying  a  burning  torch,  to  suit  the  belief  that  she  was  the 


I 


BESTIA,  on  VESTA,  77 

r  nocturnal  goddess  of  the  moon,  and  a  huntress  who  knew 
I  her  way  also  in  the  realm  of  spirits.  All  the  secret  powers 
ii  of  nature  were  at  her  command,  it  was  thought.  She  had 
It  a  control  over  birth,  life,  and  death,  and  enjoyed  great  honor 
among  the  gods  of  Olympus  as  well  as  in  the  under-world. 

1  To  express  her  power  in  the  three  regions  of  nature,  heaven, 

.  earth,  and  the  under-world,  she  was  represented  as  of  triple 
f  form,  and  named  Triformis.  Dogs  were  sacred  to  her.  Her 
character  being  originally  that  of  a  mysterious  deity,  it  hap- 
pened  that  more  prominence  was  always  given  in  the  con- 
:  ception  of  her  to  her  gloomy  and  appalling  features,  her  chief 
1  function  being  held  to  be  that  of  goddess  of  the  nether 
i  world,  of  night  and  darkness,  mistress  of  all  the  witchcraft 
I  and  black  arts  which  were  believed  in  as  much  in  antiquity 
;  as  in  the  middle  ages.  Accordingly  her  festivals  were  held 
i  at  night,  worship  was  paid  her  by  torchlight,  and  sacrifices 
’  of  black  lambs  presented  with  many  strange  ceremonies, 
r  Her  presence  was  mostly  felt  at  lonely  cross-roads,  whence 
1  she  derived  the  name  of  Trivia.  Here  her  statue  was  placed 
»  so  that  she  could  look  down  all  three  roads  at  once,  and 
here  she  was  especially  worshipped. 

A  mysterious  festival  was  held  in  her  honor  every  year  on 
;  the  island  of  Aegina,  in  the  Saronic  Gulf.  Beside  tiie  lake 
I  of  Avernus,  in  lower  Italy,  was  a  dark  grove  sacred  to  her. 

HESTIA,  OB  VESTA, 

^  Sister  of  Demeter,  and  daughter  of  Cronus  and  Rhea,  was 
I  worshipped  both  by  Greeks  and  Romans  as  the  goddess  of 
I  the  home-fire,  or  hearth,  the  name  of  which  was  identical 
I  with  her  own.  She  was  properly,  therefore,  the  guardian  of 
1  family  life;  her  altars  were  everywhere,  the  hearth  of  every 
house  being  her  sanctuary,  and  when  the  family  gathered 
I  round  it  daily  it  was  with  feelings  of  regard  for  that  goddess. 

'  Every  meal  prepared  on  the  fire  at  home  revived  a  grateful 
!  sense  of  the  common  enjoyments  of  family  life.  In  every 


m  |i  f*' 
HI  \  !*«» 


78 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDEB. 


building  of  public  resort  she  had  a  sanctuary  in  the  shape  of 
a  fire;  and  when  in  Greece  a  body  of  colonists  were  about 
to  emigrate  to  new  and  distant  homes,  one  of  their  chief 

considerations  was  to  take 
with  them  some  portion  of 
fire  sacred  to  Hestia,  in 
order  to  carry  with  them 
the  favor  of  the  goddess  ; 
for  the  Greeks  looked  upon 
the  state  as  a  great  family, 
with  an  altar  of  Hestia  as 
its  central  point ;  and  thus, 
by  taking  with  them  to 
their  new  homes  a  portion 
of  the  fire  from  that  altar, 
or  state  hearth,  the  colony 
retained  its  interest  and 
participation  in  the  public 
affairs  of  their  parent  state. 
No  enterprise  was  com¬ 
menced  without  sacrifice 
and  prayer  at  her  altar; 
and  when  the  fire  of  one 
of  those  holy  places  chanced 
to  be  extinguished,  it  could 
only  be  rekindled  by  a  light  from  some  other  sanctuary,  not 
by  ordinary  and  impure  fire. 

As  the  goddess  of  a  pure  element,  Hestia  despised  love, 
and,  though  pressed  to  consent  both  by  Poseidon  and  Apollo, 
obtained  from  Zeus  the  privilege  she  prayed  for,  of  remain¬ 
ing  in  a  single  state.  Her  spotless  purity  fitted  her  pecu¬ 
liarly  to  be  the  guardian  of  virgin  modesty. 

Though  zealously  worshipped  throughout  Greece,  there  was 
no  temple  especially  devoted  to  her.  Her  proper  sanctuary 
was,  as  we  have  said,  by  the  fire  of  every  house  where  people 
gathered  together.  She  had  a  share  in  all  the  sacrifices  offered 


HESTIA,  OB  VESTA, 


79 


at  the  temple  of  other  gods,  and  at  every  burnt-offering  her 
presence  was  recognized  as  goddess  of  the  sacred  hearth  and 
altar  flame,  as  it  was  also  in  the  libations  of  water,  wine,  oil, 
and  in  the  prayers  addressed  to  her.  At  the  same  time  she 
had  her  own  peculiar  sac- 
riflces,  consisting  of  young 
shoots  of  grain,  the  first 
fruits  of  the  harvest,  and 
young  cows.  Her  priest¬ 
esses  had  to  remain  vir¬ 
gins. 

In  Rome,  however, there 
was  a  temple  to  Vesta  that 
had  been  built  by  Numa 
Pompilius.  It  was  of  a 
round  shape,  and  con¬ 
tained  in  its  centre  her 
symbol  of  an  altar,  with  a 
fire  that  was  never  allowed 
to  go  out.  This  temple, 
which  stood  open  by  day 
but  was  closed  by  night, 
contained,  besides  other 
very  old  figures  of  deities, 
the  Palladium,  a  small 
wooden  image  of  Minerva 
(Pallas  Athene),  which,  according  to  the  myth,  originally 
fell  from  heaven  upon  the  citadel  of  Troy,  and  was  carried 
thence  to  Greece,  and  afterward  to  Rome.  U])on  the  pres¬ 
ervation  of  this  figure  depended,  the  people  believed,  the 
safety  and  existence  of  the  Roman  empire.  Her  priest¬ 
esses,  six  in  number,  were  called  vestal  virgins,  their  duty 
being  to  feed  the  sacred  flame  of  her  temple,  and  to  pre¬ 
sent  sacrifices  and  prayers  for  the  welfare  of  the  state. 
To  this  office  they  were  chosen  by  the  high  priest,  who  was 
styled  Pontifex  maximus.  They  wore  robes  of  white,  with 


•  I!) 


80 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


I 


If 

1 


a,  fillet  round  the  liair^  and  a  veil_,  additional  ornaments  ( 
being  permitted  in  later  times.  It  was  necessary  that  the  | 
girls  selected  for  tliis  service  should  be  between  six  and  ' 
ten  years  of  age,  and  that  they  should  take  a  vow  of  chas¬ 
tity,  and  serve  in  the  temple  for  thirty  years.  After  that 
period  they  were  permitted  to  leave  it,  and  even  to  marry, 
though  neither  proceeding  was  viewed  with  pleasure  by 
the  public,  who  feared  the  goddess  to  whom  they  had  been 
devoted  might  take  offence  in  either  case.  While  engaged  in 
the  services  of  the  temple  the  vestal  virgins  enjoyed  great 
esteem  and  important  privileges.  Their  person  was  invio¬ 
lable,  they  were  free  from  paternal  control,  and  had  the  right 
of  disposing  of  their  own  property.  In  their  festal  proces¬ 
sions  through  the  streets  of  Rome  they  were  preceded  by 
lictors  (or  officers  of  justice),  who  carried  with  them  the  fasces 
— that  is,  a  number  of  twigs  tied  together  into  a  bundle,  out 
of  which  an  axe  projected  as  a  symbol  of  sovereign  power — 
an  honor  which,  besides  them,  only  the  consuls  or  highest 
magistrates  of  Rome  were  entitled  to.  And  in  the  course  of  - 
the  procession,  should  they  meet  a  criminal  on  his  way  to 
expiate  his  crime  by  death,  they  had  the  prerogative  of  order¬ 
ing  him  to  be  set  free. 

With  all  this  respect  and  esteem,  they  were  very  severely 
dealt  with  when  guilty  of  neglect  of  duty,  such  as  permitting 
the  sacred  flame  of  the  altar  of  Vesta  to  die  out,  which 
could  only  be  rekindled  by  means  of  a  burning-glass  held 
up  to  the  rays  of  the  sun.  A  priestess  guilty  of  this  was 
condemned  by  the  high  priest  of  the  goddess  to  a  dark  cham¬ 
ber,  and  there  flogged.  For  the  crime  of  forfeiting  her  chas¬ 
tity  she  was  conveyed  to  a  place  called  the  Campus  Scelera- 
tus,  or  “  criminals’  field,”  and  there  placed  in  a  subterranean 
chamber  provided  with  a  bed,  a  lighted  lamp,  and  some  bread 
and  water.  The  chamber  was  then  closed  upon  her,  the 
earth  thrown  over  it  and  made  smooth,  and  the  unfortunate 
priestess  left  to  die  a  most  agonizing  death.  Her  seducer 
was  publicly  scourged  to  death.  The  whole  city  was  sor- 


tu:» 

•tfiti 

in?C 


v:>ti 


MW 


••f>4 


In 


81  A 


PALLAS  ATHENE,  OR  MINERVA. 


library 


ARES,  OR  Mars. 


81 


rowfal,  and  sacrifice  and  long  and  earnest  prayers  were  offered 
up  to  appease  the  injured  goddess.  The  procession,  in  which 
the  condemned  priestess  was  carried  to  her  crypt,  tied  down 
on  a  litter,  and  so  closely  covered  up  that  even  her  screams 
could  not  be  heard,  was  a  spectacle  that  raised  a  shudder,  and 
caused  that  day  to  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  greatest  pain 
and  grief  throughout  the  city. 

At  first  there  were  only  two  vestal  virgins,  this  number 
being  afterward  increased  to  four,  and  again  by  King  Servius 
to  six.  They  were  chosen  always  from  the  noblest  families 
of  Rome.  If  the  legend  concerning  the  foundation  of  the 
city  of  Rome  be  true,  even  Romulus  and  Remus,  the 
founders  of  that  city,  were  sons  of  a  vestal  priestess  named 
Rhea  Silvia  and  Mars. 

The  sacred  fire  on  the  hearth  of  the  goddess,  and  the  laurel 
that  shaded  it,  were  renewed  on  March  1  of  each  year;  on 
June  15  her  temple  was  cleaned  and  repaired.  But  pre¬ 
vious  to  this,  on  June  9,  a  festival  was  held  in  her  honor, 
called  the  Vestalia,  only  women  being  admitted  to  the  tem¬ 
ple,  and  these  barefooted,  and  in  the  character  of  pilgrims. 

ARES,  OR  MARS, 

A  son  of  Zeus  (Jupiter)  and  Hera  (Juno),  according  to  the 
belief  of  the  Greeks,  was  originally  god  of  the  storm  anJ 
tempest,  and  more  particularly  of  the  hurricane;  but  this  his 
natural  meaning  was  lost  sight  of  at  an  earlier  period,  and 
more  completely  than  in  the  case  of  most  of  the  other  gods, 
the  character  in  which  he  appears  to  us  being  exclusively  that 
of  ‘^god  of  the  turmoil  and  storms  in  human  affairs,^^  in 
other  words,  god  of  dreadful  war,’’  or  more  correctly,  of 
the  wild  confusion  and  strife  of  battle.”  Of  all  the  upper 
gods  he  was  the  most  fierce  and  terrible,  taking  pleasure  in 
slaughter  and  massacre. 

In  this  respect  he  forms  a  striking  contrast  to  Pallas 
Athene,  the  goddess  of  well-matched  chivalrous  fights,  whom 


82 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


we  often  find  opposed  to  him  in  mythical  narratives.  When 
fighting  she  was  invulnerable,  and  always  on  the  side  of  the 
victor;  while  Ares  (Mars)  being  not  only  god  of  battle  but 

also  a  personification  of  war,  with 
its  double  issue  of  victory  and  de- 
feat,  was  sometimes  wounded,  and 
even  taken  prisoner.  When  assist¬ 
ing  the  Trojans  in  their  war  with 
the  Greeks,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  took  under  his  special  protection 
their  leader.  Hector,  he  was  wound¬ 
ed  by  the  Greek  hero  Diomedes, 
aided  by  the  goddess  Athene.  He 
fell — so  Homer  describes  the  event 
in  the  Iliad  (v.  853) — with  a 
thundering  crash  to  the  ground, 
like  the  noise  of  ten  thousand 
warriors  engaged  in  battle.  Again 
(Iliad  xxi.  400)  he  was  wounded 
by  Athene  and  fell,  his  armor 
clanking,  and  his  body  covering 
w’ith  his  fall  seven  acres  of  ground 
— an  obvious  reference  to  the  roar 
and  destruction  attending  a  great 
storm.  He  was  once  captured  by  Otus  and  Ephialtes,  the 
giant  sons  of  Aloeus  the  planter,  and  kept  imprisoned  in  a 
great  bronze  vase  (Iliad  v.  385)  for  thirteen  months — a  space 
of  time  which,  when  we  remember  that  the  names  of  the  two 
heroes  are  derived  from  husbandry,  seems  to  indicate  a  full 
year  of  peaceful  agriculture.  Like  himself,  his  offspring 
were  distinguished  for  their  prowess  or  delight  in  strife;  as, 
for  example,  Meleager,  the  prince  of  Calydon,  who  speared 
the  Calydonian  boar;  Cycnus,  whom  Hercules  slew,  and 
for  this  would  have  been  avenged  by  Ares  had  not  Zeus 
stopped  the  conflict  of  his  two  powerful  sons  by  a  flash 
of  lightning;  then  Parthenopaeus,  one  of  the  seven  leaders 


Ares,  or  Mars.  , 


ABES,  OB  MABS. 


83 


in  the  assault  on  the  town  of  Thebes;  Oenomaeus,  and 
others.  The  expression,  ^  ^  a  son  or  offshoot  of  Ares 
(Mars)/^  frequently  applied  to  other  heroes,  must  not 
be  understood  literally,  but  merely  as  indicating  physical 
strength  and  valor  equal  to 
that  of  his  actual  descend¬ 
ants. 

Eris,  the  personification 
of  fatal  strife,  was  usually 
by  his  side.  Dread  and 
Alarm  (Deimos  and  Phobos) 
attended  on  his  steps.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  find  him, 
even  in  the  Iliad  (v.  355 
and  xxi.  416),  where  his 
general  character  is  that  of 
a  huge  fierce  combatant,  as¬ 
sociated  with  Aphrodite,  the 
goddess  of  love.  In  the 
Odyssey  (viii.  266)  the  story 
is  told  of  his  secret  visit  to 
her,  when  he  was  detected 
by  Helios  (the  Sun),  who 
informed  Hephaestus  (Vul¬ 
can)  of  the  fact,  whereupon 
the  latter  devised  a  cunning 
net,  and  catching  the  two 
together  under  it  exhibited  them  to  the  gods  of  Olympus, 
and  called  upon  Zeus  to  bring  them  to  trial.  This  relation 
of  Ares  (Mars)  to  Aphrodite  (Venus),  who  was  even  wor¬ 
shipped  as  his  proper  wife  in  Thebes,  indicates  very  probably 
the  peace  and  rest  that  follow  the  turmoil  of  war. 

It  is  true  that  Ares  was  worshipped  in  Greece,  but  not  as 
a  great  protecting  deity,  such  as  he  was  deemed  by  the 
Romans.  In  Athens  the  Areopagus,  or  Mars’  Hill,” 
on  which  was  held  a  court  of  justice  for  the  decision  of  cases 


Mars  and  Venus. 


84 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


involving  life  and  death,  derived  its  name  from  him,  the 
story  being  that  he  had  once  appeared  before  it  in  a  canse 
against  Poseidon.  The  warlike  people  of  Tegea,  the  Spar¬ 
tans,  who  had  a  very  ancient  temple  in  his  honor,  the  Athe¬ 
nians,  for  whom  Alcamenes  the  sculptor,  a  contemporary  and 
rival  of  Phidias,  made  a  statue  of  him,  and  the  Eleans,  all 
worshipped  him  with  more  or  less  zeal.  But  the  real  home 
and  centre  of  his  worship  was  Thrace,  with  its  wild  warlike 
population  and  its  stormy  tempestuous  sky.  It  was  in  Kome, 
however,  with  its  conquests  and  pride  of  military  power,  that 
he  enjoyed  under  the  name  of  Mars  the  highest  honor,  rank¬ 
ing  next  to  Jupiter  as  guardian  of  the  state.  The  Romans 
considered  themselves  to  be  actual  descendants  of  Mars,  on 
the  ground  of  his  having  been,  as  was  believed,  the  father  of 
Romulus  and  Remns,  styling  him  Marspiter — that  is.  Mars 
Pater,  their  father  Mars.  At  Reate,  in  Italy,  he  had  even 
an  oracle.  In  Rome  there  was  a  field  consecrated  to  him, 
and  named  the  Field  of  Mars,’’  where  military  exercises 
and  manoeuvres  took  place,  athletic  competitions,  called  ^ ^mar¬ 
tial  games,”  were  held,  and  public  assemblies  were  summoned 
to  consider  important  questions  of  the  state.  The  race-course 
and  the  temples  of  the  god  were  there;  and  there  every  five 
years,  called  a  lustrum,  were  held  the  census  and  muster  of 
citizens  liable  to  be  called  into  the  field  in  the  event  of  war. 
On  this  occasion  a  sacrifice  was  presented  to  him,  called  the 
Suovetanrilia,”  consisting  of  a  pig,  a  sheep,  and  an  ox, 
which  were  led  three  times  around  the  assembled  multitude, 
while  during  the  ceremony  a  prayer  was  offered  up  that  the 
immortal  gods  might  still  enlarge  and  ennoble  the  Roman 
empire  more  and  more,  or,  as  it  was  expressed  in  later  times, 
that  they  might  give  stability  and  endurance  to  the  Roman 
state.  Chariot  races  were  held  there  twice  a  vear,  at  the 
beginning  of  March  and  in  October;  the  ceremony  of  sacri¬ 
ficing  to  Mars  the  off-horse  of  the  biga  that  won  the  race — 
the  October  horse  as  it  was  called — being  performed  at  the 
latter.  In  the  Field  of  Mars”  was  dedicated  the  booty 


HEPHAESTUS,  OR  VULCAN. 


85 


:  brought  back  from  campaigns,  and  no  Roman  general  went 
I  to  war  without  first  proceeding  to  the  temple  of  Mars,  to 
swing  the  sacred  shield  and  spear,  adding  the  words,  Watch 
over  me,  O  Mars  This  shield  (ancile)  was  believed  to  have 
I  fallen  from  heaven  at  the  time  when  Numa  Pompilius  was 
i  king  of  Rome,  and,  like  the  Palladium  in  the  temple  of 
Vesta,  was  looked  on  with  veneration.  The  haruspices  of 
Numa^s  time  having  declared  that  the  Roman  state  would 
last  as  long  as  this  shield  remained  in  Rome,  eleven  other 
shields  exactly  like  it  were  made,  in  order  that  the  sacred 
I  one  might  have  small  chance  of  being  stolen.  These  and  a 
;  sacred  spear  were  preserved  in  the  temple  of  Mars,  under 
the  custody  of  priests,  who  were  called  Salii,  and  whose  duty 
it  was  every  year  to  celebrate  a  festival  of  thanksgiving  for 
i  this  important  present  from  the  gods.  In  the  earliest  times 
I  the  sacrifices  offered  to  Mars  consisted  of  human  beings,  par- 
1  ticularly  those  who  had  been  taken  prisoners  in  battle;  but 
i  in  later  times  this  custom  was  abandoned,  and  horses,  rams, 
i  dogs,  and  a  portion  of  the  booty  captured  from  enemies, 
t  offered  instead.  Besides  these  animals,  the  wolf,  cock,  and 
woodpecker  were  sacred  to  him. 

The  attributes  of  Ares  were  a  spear  and  a  burning  torch, 

;  such  as,  according  to  ancient  custom,  his  priests  carried  when 
\  they  advanced  to  give  the  sign  of  battle  to  opposing  armies. 

The  animals  chosen  as  his  symbols  were  the  dog  and  the 
’  vulture,  the  constant  visitants  of  battle-fields. 

In  works  of  art  Ares  is  represented  generally  as  of  a  youthful  but 
’  very  powerful  build,  armed  with  helmet,  shield,  and  spear.  At  other 
I  times  he  is  bearded  and  heavily  armed.  A  favorite  subject  was  his 
1  meeting  with  Venus. 


HEPHAESTUS,  OR  VULCAN, 

Was  the  divine  personification  of  the  fire  that  burns  within 
the  earth  and  bursts  forth  in  volcanic  eruptions — fire  which 


86 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


has  no  connection  with  the  snn  or  the  lightning  of  heaven; 
and  such  being  his  character,  we  can  readily  understand  the 
mutual  dislike  which  existed  between  him  and  the  god  of 
the  light  of  heaven.  He  was  indeed  the  son  of  Zeus  and 
Hera,  the  supreme  deities  of  heaven;  but  he  was  born  to  be 
a  cause  of  quarrel  between  them,  and  alternately  at  enmity 
with  both.  Once,  when  he  took  his  mother’s  part,  Zeus 
seized  him  by  the  heels  and  tossed  him  out  of  Olympus 
(Iliad  i.  560).  Through  the  air  he  fell  for  one  whole  day; 
at  evening,  as  the  sun  went  down,  reaching  the  island  of 
Lemnos,  where  he  was  found  by  some  Sintian  people,  and 
taken  under  friendly  care.  The  place  where  he  was  found, 
and  where  in  after  times  was  the  principal  centre  of  his 
worship,  was  the  neighborhood  of  the  burning  mountain 
Mosychlus. 

Another  version  of  the  myth  has  it  that  Hera,  ashamed 
of  the  decrepit  form  which  he  presented  at  his  birth,  threw 
him  with  her  own  hands  from  Olympus.  Falling  into  the 
sea,  he  was  picked  up  by  Thetis  and  Burynome,  was  cared 
for  by  them,  remained  for  nine  years  in  the  abode  of  the 
sea-gods,  none  but  they  knowing  his  whereabouts,  and  exe¬ 
cuted  there  many  wonderfully  clever  examples  of  handi¬ 
work.  It  may  be  that  this  belief  originated  in  observing 
the  nearness  of  volcanic  mountains  to  the  seashore,  and  the 
fact  of  whole  islands,  like  the  modern  Santorin,  being  sud¬ 
denly  thrown  up  from  the  sea  by  volcanic  force.  Among 
the  works  which  he  fashioned  in  the  palace  of  the  sea-gods 
was  a  cunningly  devised  throne,  which  he  presented  to  Hera, 
^as  a  punishment  for  casting  him  out  of  heaven,  knowing  that 
when  she  sat  down  on  it  she  would  be  locked  within  its  secret 
chains  so  firmly  that  no  power  but  his  could  free  her.  This 
happened,  and  Ares  went  to  bring  him  by  force  to  her  assist¬ 
ance,  but  was  compelled  to  retreat  in  fear  of  the  firebrand 
with  which  Hephaestus  assailed  him.  At  last  Dionysus 
(Bacchus),  the  god  of  wine,  succeeded  by  his  soft  conciliatory 
speech  in  restoring  friendship  between  mother  and  son,  and 


I 


HEPHAESTUS,  OR  VULCAN.  g7 


liber  bonds  were  forthwith  undone.  Perhaps  it  is  from 
[this  intimacy  with  Dionysus  that  he  is  said  to  have  once 
i|  appeared  as  cup-bearer  in  Olympus,  on  which  occasion 
i  the  assembled  deities 
;  could  not  contain  them- 
^  selves  with  laughter  at 
:  the  droll  figure  limping 
ifrom  couch  to  couch. 

It  seems  to  be  the  un- 
‘  steady  flicker  of  flame 
ithat  is  represented  in 

ubeen  the  genial  influ- 
lence  of  the  heartli  which 
i  was  the  source  of  the 
I  quaint  stories  about 
;  him. 

From  being  originally 
I  the  god  of  fire,  Hephae- 
istus  naturally  devel¬ 
oped  into  god  of  those 
I  arts  and  industries  de- 
s pendent  on  fire,  especially  the  arts  of  pottery  and  working  in 
metal.  He  was  the  artist  god  who  worked  in  a  smoky 
ismithy  down  in  the  heart  of  the  burning  mountains,  and  pro¬ 
duced  clever  works  of  dazzling  beauty,  which  he  gave  freely 
away  to  gods  and  to  favorite  heroes.  For  Zeus  he  made  the 
dreaded  aegis  and  a  sceptre;  for  Achilles  and  Mernnon  their 
armor;  for  himself  two  wonderful  handmaidens  of  gold,  who, 
like  living  beings,  would  move  about  and  assist  him  as  he 
walked;  and  when  Homer  has  to  describe  any  bronze  work 
of  great  beauty,  his  highest  praise  is  always  that  it  was  the 
work  of  Hephaestus.  The  throne  which  he  made  for  Hera, 
and  the  net  in  which  he  caught  Aphrodite  and  Ares,  have 
already  been  mentioned. 

Murray — 8 


I  the  lameness  of  thefire- 
[igod,  and  it  may  have 


Ml 

:: 

It '  I'M* 
ifiTlCj 

itif  f'SyjS 

mliif  1^ 


f> 


88 


'deiti:eis  of  the  highest  order. 


From  being  god  of  the  warmth  within  the  earth — of  vol¬ 
canic  fire — Hephaestus  came  also,  when  the  fertility  of  a 
volcanic  soil  became  known  by  experience,  to  be  looked  on 
as  one  who  aided  the  spread  of  vegetation,  this  function  of 
his  being  recognized  most  in  the  spread  of  the  vine,  which 
thrives  and  bears  its  best  fruit  on  volcanic  soil.  It  was  from 
knowledge  of  this  fact,  no  doubt,  that  the  idea  arose  of  the 
close  friendship  between  him  and  the  wine-god  Dionysus, 
which  we  find  exemplified  partly  in  the  joint  worship  of 
these  two  deities,  and  partly  in  the  story  already  told,  of  how 
Dionysus  led  Hephaestus  back  to  Olympus,  and  smoothed 
his  differences  with  the  other  gods. 

His  worship  was  traceable  back  to  the  earliest  times,  Lem¬ 
nos  being  always  the  place  most  sacred  to  him.  There,  at 
the  foot  of  the  burning  mountain  Mosychlus,  which  is  now 
extinct,  stood  a  very  ancient  temple  of  the  god — on  the  very 
spot*  it  was  said,  where  Prometheus  stole  the  heavenly  fire, 
and  for  the  theft  was  taken  away  among  the  Caucasus  moun¬ 
tains,  there  nailed  alive  to  a  rock  by  Hephaestus,  and  com-j 
pelled  to  suffer  every  day  an  eagle  sent  by  Zeus  to  gnaw  his 
liver,  which  daily  grew  afresh.  A  somewhat  gloomy  cere¬ 
mony  of  expiating  this  theft  of  fire  took  place  annually  in 
the  island,  all  fires  being  put  out,  and  forbidden  to  be  relit 
until  the  return  of  the  ship  that  had  been  despatched  to  the 
sacred  island  of  Delos  to  fetch  new  fire.  Then,  after  being 
nine  days  extinguished,  all  the  fires  in  dwelling-houses  and 
in  workshops  were  rekindled  by  the  new  flame. 

Next  to  Lemnos,  perhaps  the  most  important  seat  of  his 
worship  was  Athens,  where  the  unusually  large  number  of 
persons  employed  in  the  potteries  and  in  metal-working 
recognized  him  as  their  patron  god,  and  associating  him  with 
Athene,  held  annually  in  October  a  festival  called  Chalkeia, 
in  honor  of  both.  In  the  same  month  occurred  the  festival 
Apaturia,  at  which,  by  the  side  of  Zeus  and  Athene  a  prom¬ 
inent  place  was  assigned  to  Hephaestus  in  his  capacity  of 
god  of  the  hearth,  and  protector  of  the  domestic  life  which 


HAPHAESTUS,  OR  VULCAN.  39 

^  gathered  around  it.  On  this  occasion  sacrifices  were  offered 
i  at  the  hearth,  and  a  public  procession  took  place  of  men  clad 
■  in  festival  garments,  carrying  lighted  torches  and  singing 
N  songs  in  his  praise.  Again,  the  torch  race,  which  formed 
[  part  of  the  Panathenaic  games,  was  intended  to  commemo- 
r  rate  the  theft  of  fire  by  Prometheus.  In  connection  with 
t  this  community  of  worship  existing  between  Athene  and 
Hephaestus  at  Athens,  it  was  said  that  he  once  endeavored 
:  to  obtain  the  love  of  the  goddess,  and  that  even  though  this 
.  failed  she  had  devoted  special  care  to  Erichthonius,  the 
]  offspring  of  his  intercourse  with  Gaea,  the  goddess  of  the 
!  earth. 

In  Sicily  Hephaestus  had  a  temple  on  Mount  Aetna,  which 
?  was  watched  by  dogs  possessed  of  the  faculty  of  distinguish¬ 
ing  the  pious  from  the  impious  and  profane,  whose  approach 
;  they  fiercely  resisted.  His  worship  had  also  spread  to  lower 
Italy  and  the  Campania. 

In  Rome  it  was  said  that  Vulcan  had  a  temple  as  early  as 
J  the  time  of  Romulus,  who,  in  fact,  caused  it  to  be  erected, 
and  instituted  the  festival  called  Vulcanalia,  which  was 
'wont  to  be  held  on  August  23,  the  ceremony  consisting  of  a 
i  sacrifice  for  the  purpose  of  averting  all  the  mishaps  that  arise 
;from  the  use  of  fire  and  lights;  for  the  days  were  then  begin- 
:  ning  to  be  noticeably  shorter,  and  the  necessity  of  light  to 
work  by  in  the  evenings  to  be  felt. 

The  wife  of  Hephaestus,  according  to  the  Iliad,  was 
:Charis,  but  the  popular  belief  of  later  times  assigned  that 
place  to  Aphrodite.  By  neither  had  he  any  children. 

In  works  of  art  Hephaestus  is  represented  as  an  aged  bearded  man, 
with  serious  furrowed  face,  wearing  a  short  chiton,  and  a  pointed  cap 
or  pilos,  the  mark  of  workmen  or  fishermen  (which  Odysseus  also 
wears),  hammering  at  an  anvil,  his  attitude  showing  the  lameness  of 
which  the  myth  speaks.  On  the  early  coins  of  Lemnos  he  appears 
without  a  beard.  One  of  the  favorite  subjects  both  of  the  poets  and 
artists  was  the  story  of  his  catching  Hera  in  the  throne  which  he  gave 
her,  the  ludierousness  of  it  making  it  an  attractive  subject  for  the 


I 


•>  ii»** 

M  i«* 


90 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


ancient  comedy.  On  a  painted  vase  in  the  British  Museum  is  a  scene 
from  a  comedy  in  which  Hera  appears  seated  on  the  throne,  while 
Ares  and  Hephaestus  are  engaged  in  combat  before  her.  Another 
scene  which  frequently  occurs  on  the  painted  vases  is  that  in  which 
Hephaestus  appears  on  his  way  back  to  Olympus  in  a  state  of  intox¬ 
ication,  riding  on  a  mule,  or  walking,  and  accompanied  by  Dionysus, 
Sileni,  and  nymphs.  At  the  birth  of  Athene  it  was  he  who  split 
open  the  head  of  Zeus  to  let  the  goddess  come  forth,  and  in  the  fre¬ 
quent  representations  of  this  scene  on  the  vases  he  appears  hammer 
in  hand.  At  other  times  we  find  him  fashioning  the  armor  of  Achilles, 
or  fastening  Prometheus  to  the  rock. 


APHRODITE,  OR  VENUS, 

Was  the  goddess  of  love  in  that  wide  sense  of  the  word  which 
in  early  times  embraced  also  the  love  of  animals,  and  the  love 
which  was  thought  to  be  the  cause  of  productiveness  through¬ 
out  nature.  Accordingly  we  find  in  her  character,  side  by 
side  with  what  is  beautiful  and  noble,  much  that  is  coarse 
and  unworthy.  In  the  best  times  of  Greece  the  refined  and 
beautiful  features  of  her  worship  were  kept  in  prominence, 
both  in  poetry  and  art;  but  these,  when  times  of  luxury  suc¬ 
ceeded,  had  to  give  way  to  impurities  of  many  kinds. 

The  feelings  awakened  by  observing  the  productive  power 
of  nature  had,  it  would  seem,  given  rise  to  a  divine  personi¬ 
fication  of  love  in  very  remote  early  times  among  the  nations 
of  the  East.  The  Phoenicians  called  this  personification 
Astarte,  and  carried  her  worship  with  them  wherever  they 
established  factories  or  markets  in  Greece,  in  the  islands  of 
the  Mediterranean,  and  on  to  Italy.  The  early  Greeks  com¬ 
ing  in  contact  with  these  traders,  and  obtaining  from  them  a 
knowledge  of  coinage,  weights,  measures,  and  other  neces¬ 
saries  of  commerce  and  trade — including,  it  is  said,  a  system 
of  writing — appear  to  have  transferred  some  of  the  functions 
of  the  oriental  goddess  to  their  own  Aphrodite,  as,  for  instance, 
the  function  of  protecting  commerce.  The  earliest  known 
Greek  coins — those  of  Aegina — the  weights  of  which  corre- 


aphrodit:b:,  or  venus. 


91 


^  spond  accurately  with  the  oriental  standard,  have  the  figure 
of  a  tortoise,  the  well-known  symbol  of  Aphrodite. 

How  much  else  of  the  character  of  their  goddess  the  Greeks 
may  have  derived  from  the  Phoenicians  it  would  be  impossi- 
i  bie  to  say.  But  the  extraordinary  zeal  with  which  she  con¬ 
tinued  to  be  worshipped  in  Cyprus,  Cythera,  Corinth,  Car- 
ithage,  Sicily,  and  wherever  in  early  times  the  Phoenicians 
1  had  made  settlements,  may  signify  that  others  of  her  functions 
besides  that  of  protecting  commerce  had  been  borrowed  from 
the  oriental  goddess.  The  older  Aphrodite  worshipped  in 
Greece  previous  to  the  introduction  of  Phoenician  elements 
;in  her  character  is  described  as  a  daughter  of  Zeus  (Iliad  v. 
312)  and  Dione,  and  through  her  mother  was  associated  with 
ithe  ancient  worship  at  Dodona, 

The  younger  goddess,  on  the  other  hand,  is  described  (He- 
■siod,  Theogony,  188-206)  as  the  offspring  of  Uranus,  born 
among  the  foam  of  the  sea,  first  stepping  on  land  in  Cyprus, 
and  styled  Anadyomene,  or  ''  she  who  came  out  of  the 
sea.  Under  the  title  of  Urania  she  was  regarded  as  a  per¬ 
sonification  of  that  power  of  love  which  was  thought  to  unite 
heaven,  earth,  and  sea  into  one  harmonious  system,  and  as 
such  was  distinguished  from  Aphrodite  Pandemos,  the  per¬ 
sonification  of  love  among  men.  As  the  goddess  born  of  the 
foam  of  the  sea,  she  naturally  came  to  be  held  in  veneration 
by  the  fishermen  and  sailors  on  the  coast  as  the  goddess  of 
the  smiling  sea,  and  the  cause  of  prosperous  voyages.  Hence 
it  was  the  custom  in  the  island  of  Aegina  to  follow  up  the 
sacrifice  and  banquet  in  honor  of  Poseidon  with  a  festival  of 
^reat  rejoicing  and  excitement  in  honor  of  Aphrodite.  In 
Cnidus  she  was  styled  and  worshipped  as  goddess  of  the 
peaceful  sea;  a  character  which  is  symbolized  by  the  dolphin 
frequently  given  her  as  an  attribute.  The  island  of  Cythera 
(Cerigo)  derived  its  name  from  one  of  her  titles,  Cytherea, 

the  belief  being  that  she  had  ai3peared  there  before  landing- 
3n  Cyprus. 

The  earlier  and  pure  Greek  phase  of  her  character,  in 


m*  ii  f** 

M 

C 


92 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


which  she  is  called  a  daughter  of  Zeus  and  Dione,  was  that  of 
a  goddess  who  presides  over  human  love;  she  is  described  as 
accompanied  by  her  son  Eros  (Amor,  or  Cupid),  the  Char- 
ites  (Graces),  the  Horae,  Himeros  (God  of  the  desire  of 
love),  Pothos  (God  of  the  anxieties  of  love),  and  Pitho 
(Suadela,  or  the  soft  speech  of  love).  But  her  special  favorite 
was  the  young  rosy  shepherd  Adonis;  her  grief  at  his  death, 
which  was  caused  by  a  wild  boar,  being  so  great  that  she 
would  not  allow  the  lifeless  body  to  be  taken  from  her  arms 
until  the  gods  consoled  her  by  decreeing  that  her  lover  might 
continue  to  live  half  the  year,  during  the  spring  and  sum¬ 
mer,  on  the  earth,  while  she  might  spend  the  other  half  with 
him  in  the  lower  world,  beside  Persephone  (Proserpina); 
a  reference  to  the  change  of  seasons,  which  finds  its  explana¬ 
tion  in  the  fact  of  Aphrodite  being  also  goddess  of  gardens 
and  flowers.  Her  presence  in  nature  was  felt  in  spring,  her 
absence  in  winter.  This  change  of  the  seasons  was  further 
observed  and  celebrated  by  a  festival  in  honor  of  Adonis,  in 
the  course  of  which  a  figure  of  him  was  produced,  and  the 
ceremony  of  burial,  with  weeping  and  songs  of  wailing,  gone 
through;  after  which  a  joyful  shout  was  raised,  Adonis 
lives,  and  is  risen  again  V  She  was  called  Adonai  and 
Adonias,  with  reference  to  this  love  passage.  Next  to 
him  her  chief  favorite  was  Anchises,  to  whom  she  bore 
Aeneas,  who  through  his  son  Ascanius,  or  Julius,  became, 
as  the  story  goes,  the  founder  of  the  great  Julian  family  in 
Rome. 

With  regard  to  the  story  of  Pygmalion,  the  Adonis  of 
Cyprus,  into  whose  statue  of  her  she  breathed  life  on  the 
occasion  of  one  of  her  festivals,  perhaps  the  same  meaning  is 
intended  to  be  conveyed  as  in  the  alternate  life  and  death  of 
Adonis — that  is,  the  alternate  fervor  and  coldness  of  love, 
or  the  alternate  bloom  and  frost  of  nature. 

The  husband  of  Aphrodite  was  Hephaestus  (Vulcan), 
whose  manner  of  punishing  her  when  he  found  her  in  com¬ 
pany  of  Ares  has  already  been  related.  Among  her  children. 


APHRODITE,  OR  VENUS. 


93 


C 

»>  •« 
M  'JQ 

it’Aim 

;:ii! 

•aC 

•••KluV 

cL.:9 

I , 

«rr,!yS 

irrr'C 

fr^rJ 

»«•«  «|| 

we*  |F 


tn-'jjJ 

t:^!9 


.«r 


Aphrodite,  or  Venus 


94 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


but  not  by  Hephaestus,  were  Eros  (Amor),  and  Anteros, 
Hymen,  and  Hermaphroditus. 

But  if  she  had  favors  for  some  she  had  strong  antipathies 
for  others,  and  proved  this  spirit  on  Hippolytus,  whom  she 
slew;  on  Polyphonte,  whom  she  changed  into  an  owl;  on 
Arsinoe,  whom  she  turned  to  stone;  and  Myrrha,  whom  she 
transformed  into  a  myrtle  tree.  Of  her  strife  and  competi¬ 
tion  with  Hera  and  Athene  for  the  prize  of  beauty,  which 
.  the  Trojan  prince,  Paris,  awarded  to  her,  we  shall  give  an 
account  later  on  in  connection  with  the  narrative  of  the 
Trojan  war. 

As  a  result  of  her  power  to  unite  by  means  of  love  all 
beings,  whether  in  heaven,  or  earth,  or  in  blackest  Tartarus, 
she  came  to  be  viewed  as  a  goddess  presiding  over  married 
life  and  marriage  ceremonies.  She  had  a  number  of  temples 
on  the  island  of  Cyprus,  but  none  of  them  so  splendidly 
decorated  as  that  in  the  town  of  Paphus,  whither  thousands 
of  visitors  streamed  to  take  part  in  the  annual  festival  and 
rejoicings  in  her  honor.  There  also  she  had  an  oracle,  and, 
as  Urania,  was  worshipped  jointly  with  Ares  (Mars);  the 
latter  fact  showing  that  her  connection  with  this  god  was 
founded  in  the  religious  belief  of  the  people.  At  times,  and 
particularly  in  her  very  ancient  sanctuary  in  the  island  of 
Cythera,  as  also  in  Sparta,  Argos,  and  on  the  Acropolis  of 
Corinth,  she  was  represented  armed. 

The  worship  of  Venus  did  not  become  general  in  Pome 
till  later  times.  A  festival,  called  Veneralia,  was  held  in 
her  honor  every  year,  a  great  part  of  the  ceremony  consisting 
of  nocturnal  dances  and  passionate  enjoyment  in  gardens 
among  blooming  arbors.  She  had  a  temple  on  the  Capitol, 
and  one  of  the  Colline  gates  was  consecrated  to  her.  The 
month  of  April  was  held  sacred  to  her,  for  then  the  flowers 
bud  and  plants  shoot;  or,  as  the  Greek  myth  expresses  it, 
Adonis  comes  back  from  the  under- world. 

The  symbols  of  Aphrodite  were  the  dove,  ram,  hare,  dol¬ 
phin,  swan,  and  tortoise,  with  the  rose  as  a  flower,  the  myrtle 


I 

f 

\  PALLAS  ATHENE,  OE  3IINEAVA.  95 

tree,  and  other  beautiful  plants,  the  apple,  and  fruits  of  vari¬ 
ous  kinds. 

In  Paphus  the  earliest  form  or  image  under  which  she  was  wor¬ 
shipped  was  that  of  a  ball  or  a  pyramid,  surrounded  with  burning 
torches  or  candelabra,  as  is  to  be  seen  on  the  coins  of  Cyprus ;  but 
gradually,  as  art  advanced,  she  took  a  finer  form,  fresh  charms  being 
continually  added,  till  all  the  resources  of  expressing  imperious, 
overpowering  beauty  were  exhausted.  In  the  best  days  of  art  she 
was  always  represented  draped,  in  later  times  nude,  and  in  various 
attitudes.  The  scene  of  her  birth  from  the  sea  was  represented  by 
Phidias,  on  the  base  of  the  statue  of  Zeus  at  Olympia,  as  taking 
place  in  presence  of  the  gods  of  Olympus,  she  being  received  first  by 
Eros,  who  elsewhere  is  called  her  son.  One  of  the  most  famous  pic¬ 
tures  of  Apelles  represented  her  as  rising  out  of  the  sea.  To  indicate 
her  connection  with  Ares  she  was  represented  as  Venus  Victrix, 
standing  with  one  foot  on  a  helmet  and  with  both  arms  raising  a 
shield.  Of  this  type  are  the  Venus  of  Capua  and  the  Venus  of  Milo.- 
In  a  temple  erected  to  her  as  Euploia  or  goddess  of  prosperous  voy¬ 
ages,  in  Cnidus,  was  a  statue  of  her  by  Praxiteles,  which  was  cele¬ 
brated  above  all  her  other  statues  in  ancient  times ;  and  of  which 
the  so-called  Medicean  Venus  is  believed  to  be  a  free  copy. 

PALLAS  ATHENE,  OR  MINERYA, 

Called  also  Tritogeneia  or  Tritonia  and  Athenaea,  is  usually 
described,  in  the  myths  concerning  her  birth,  as  having  sprung 
*  into  life,  fully  armed,  from  the  head  of  Zeus,  with  its  thick 
black  locks,  all  heaven  and  earth  shaking  meanwhile,  the  sea 
tossing  in  great  billows,  and  the  light  of  day  being  extin¬ 
guished.  Zeus,  it  was  said,  had  previously  swallowed  his  wife 
Metis  (Intelligence),  to  prevent  her  giving  birth  to  a  son. 
The  operation  of  laying  his  head  open,  that  Pallas  might  come 
forth,  was  performed  by  Hephaestus  ( Y ulcan),  or,  according 
to  other  versions  of  the  story,  Prometheus.  There  is,  how¬ 
ever,  another  myth,  which  ascribes  her  origin  to  a  connection 
of  Poseidon  (Neptune)  with  the  nymph  Tritonis,  adding 
that  Zeus  merely  adopted  her  as  his  daughter.  But  this  seems 
to  have  had  no  foundation  in  the  general  belief  of  the 
people,  and  to  have  been  only  an  invention  of  later  times, 


96  DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 

when  her  name,  Tritogeneia  or  Tritonia,  had  become  unin¬ 
telligible. 

No  being  connected  with  the  earth,  whether  deity  or  mor¬ 
tal,  had  part  in  her  birth.  She  was  altogether  the  issue  only 
of  her  father,  the  god  of  heaven,  who,  as  the  myth  very 
plainly  characterizes  it,  brought  her  into  being  out  of  the 
black  tempest-cloud,  and  amidst  the  roar  and  crash  of  a 
storm.  Her  character  must,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  form¬ 
ing  in  some  way  a  complement  to  his.  The  purpose  for 
which  she  was  brought  into  existence  must  have  been  that  J 
she  might  do  what  he  would  plan,  but  as  the  supreme  and 
impartial  god,  could  not  carry  out.  She  is  at  once  fearful 
and  powerful  as  a  storm,  and  in  turn,  gentle  and  pure  as  the 
warmth  of  the  sky  when  a  storm  has  sunk  to  rest  and  an 
air  of  new  life  moves  over  the  freshened  fields. 

To  express  both  these  sides  of  her  character — terrible  and 
mighty  as  compared  with  open,  gentle,  and  pure— she  had  the 
double  name  of  Pallas  Athene :  the  former  was  applied  to 
her  function  of  goddess  of  storms — she  who  carried  the  aegis 
or  storm-shield  of  her  father.  And  further,  as  Pallas,  she 
became  the  goddess  of  battle — valiant,  conquering,  frighten¬ 
ing  with  the  sight  of  her  aegis  whole  crowds  of  heroes  when 
they  vexed  her,  and  even  driving  Ares  before  her  with  her 
lightning-spear.  At  the  same  time  the  soft,  gentle,  and 
heavenly  side  of  her  character  took  from  her  functions,  as 
goddess  of  battle,  that  desire  of  confused  slaughter  and  mas¬ 
sacre  which  distinguished  Ares,  and  formed  the  contrast  we 
have  already  mentioned  between  the  two  deities  of  war. 
Pallas  presides  over  battles,  but  only  to  lead  on  to  victory, 
and  through  victory,  to  peace  and  prosperity. 

When  the  war  has  been  fought  out,  and  that  peace  estab¬ 
lished  which— whether  it  be  amid  the  political  life  of  nations 
here  on  earth,  or  whether  it  be  amid  the  passions  of  individ¬ 
ual  men— is  always  the  result  of  conflict  and  war,  then  it  is 
that  the  goddess  Athene  reigns  in  all  gentleness  and  purity, 
teaching  mankind  to  enjoy  peace,  and  instructing  them  in  all 


PALLAS  ATHENE,  OR  MINERVA. 


97 


A 


that  gives  beauty  to  human  life,  in  wisdom  and  art.  If  we 
observe  and  keep  clearly  before  our  minds  these  two  sides  of 
her  character,  the  inseparable  union  of  both,  and  their  action 
and  reaction  upon  each  other,  we  shall  see  that  this  goddess, 
Pallas  Athene,  is  one  of  the  most  profound  conceptions  of 
a  deep  religious  feeling — a  being  into  whose  hands  the  pious 
Greek  could,  with  due  reverence,  commit  his  keeping. 

The  mutual  relation  of  these  two  sides  of  her  character  is 
sufficiently  obvious  in  the  various  myths  relating  to  the  god¬ 
dess.  The  principal  of  these  we  shall  proceed  to  narrate. 
But,  first,  we  must  call  attention  to  this  point,  that  Athene 
is  represented  in  the  myths  as  forever  remaining  a  virgin, 
scorning  the  affections  which  are  said  to  have  been  frequently 
offered  to  her.  Instead  of  suggesting  her  liability,  in  the 
smallest  degree,  to  earthly  passions  and  foibles,  the  myth 
shows  admirably  that  she  was  a  divine  personification  of 
mind,  always  unfettered  in  its  movements;  a  personification, 
at  the  same  time,  of  the  origin  of  mind  from  the  brain  of 
the  supreme  Divine  Being  :  a  proof  that  mind  is  neither  of 
a  male  nor  of  a  female  order,  but  a  single  and  independent 
power  at  work  throughout  the  whole  of  nature. 

In  the  course  of  the  war  with  the  Giants  Pallas  rendered 
most  valuable  assistance  to  Zeus,  both  by  advice  and  deed; 
being,  in  fact,  the  cause  of  his  calling  in  the  aid  of  Hercules, 
and  thus  completing  successfully  the  subjugation  of  the  rebels. 
Single-handed  she  overpowered  the  terrible  giant  Bnceladus  ; 
but  when  Zeus’  rule  was  at  last  firmly  established,  she  took 
up  the  task  of  assisting  and  protecting  those  heroes  on  earth 
whom  she  found  engaged  in  destroying  the  grim  creatures 
and  monsters  upon  it.  In  this  capacity  she  was  the  constant 
friend  of  Hercules  in  all  his  hardships  and  adventures,  and 
of  Perseus,  whom  she  helped  to  slay  the  Gorgon  Medusa, 
whose  head  she  afterward  wore  upon  her  aegis,  and  for  this 
reason  obtained  the  name  of  Gorg*ophone,  or  Gorgon  slayer. 
Along  with  Hera  she  protected  the  Argonauts,  while  to  her 
assistance  was  due  the  success  with  which  Theseus  overcame 


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98  DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 

/ 

and  slew  monsters  of  all  kinds.  She  stood  by  the  Greeks  in 
their  war  against  Troy,  which  we  shall  describe  afterward, 
and  devised  the  scheme  by  which,  after  ten  years’  duration, 
it  was  brought  to  a  close. 

But,  in  times  of  peace,  her  power  as  goddess  in  all  kinds 
of  skill  and  handicraft,  of  clearness  like  that  of  the  sky,  and 
of  mental  activity,  was  uniformly  exercised,  as  has  been  said, 
for  the  general  good  and  prosperity.  The  arts  of  spinning 
and  weaving  were  described  as  of  her  invention.  She  taught 
how  to  tend  and  nurse  newly-born  infants;  and  even  the 
healing  art  was  traced  back  to  her  among  other  gods.  The 
flute,  too,  was  her  invention.  As  became  the  goddess  of  war, 
it  was  her  duty  to  instruct  men  in  the  art  of  taming  horses, 
of  bridling  and  yoking  them  to  the  war-chariot— a  task  which 
we  find  her  performing  in  the  story  of  Bellerophon,  for  whom 
she  bridled  the  winged  horse  Pegasus;  and  in  the  story  of 
Brichthonius,  at  Athens,  the  first  mortal  who  learned  from 
her  how  to  harness  horses  to  chariots.  In  a  word,  she  was 
the  protectress  of  all  persons  employed  in  art  and  industry, 
of  those  whose  business  it  was  on  earth  to  instruct  and  edu¬ 
cate  mankind,  and,  therefore,  to  help  forward  the  general 
happiness. 

The  principal  scene  of  her  influence  and  actions  was  4ttica, 
that  district  of  Greece  which,  according  to  the  myth  related 
above,  she  obtained  as  her  special  and  peculiar  province, 
after  a  contest  for  it  with  Poseidon,  the  god  of  the  sea! 
There  her  worship  and  honor  surpassed  that  of  all  other 
deities,  and  from  her  was  named  the  chief  town  of  the  land. 
The  visible  proof  and  testimony  of  her  guardianship  of  Attica 
was  the  olive  on  the  Acropolis  of  Athens,  which  she  created 
in  the  contest  with  Poseidon,  and  from  which  the  Athenians 
believed  all  the  olive  trees  of  Attica  to  have  spread.  In  the 
produce  of  the  olives  consisted  the  chief  wealth  of  the  land. 
Ancient  writers  relate  a  touching  story  concerning  this  olive 
tree  on  the  Acropolis,  which  reveals  how  firmly  the  belief  of 
their  goddess  was  rooted  in  the  minds  of  her  people.  When 


100  DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 

the  Persians  advanced  with  their  overwhelming  forces  against 
Greece,  it  is  said  that  Athene  presented  herself  at  the  throne 
of  her  father,  and  begged  for  the  preservation  of  her  city. 
But  fate  had  otherwise  decreed  :  Athens  must  perish,  in 
order  that  a  better  and  nobler  city  might  rise  from  its  ruins, 
and  accordingly  Zeus  was  obliged  to  refuse  the  prayer  of  his 
beloved  daughter.  The  Athenians  took  to  their  fleet,  aban¬ 
doning  altogether  the  city,  which  the  Persians  then  entered, 
and  destroyed  utterly  with  fire  and  sword,  not  even  sparing 
the  sacred  olive  of  the  goddess.  But,  lo  !  as  a  sign  that  she 
had  not  forsaken  her  city  even  in  ruins,  there  sprang  sud¬ 
denly  from  the  root  which  remained  a  new  shoot,  which,  with 
wonderful  quickness,  grew  to  a  length  of  three  yards,  and 
was  looked  on  as  an  emblem  of  the  regeneration  of  the  city. 
With  the  aid  of  their  goddess  the  Athenians  fought  foremost 
of  all  the  Greeks  in  the  famous  sea-fight  that  ensued  at  Sala- 
mis,  in  which  the  Persian  fleet,  though  vastly  superior  in 
numbers,  was  wholly  destroyed,  while  the  troops  on  the 
mainland  were  compelled  to  escape  with  shame  and  immense 
losses  from  Greece. 

Among  the  great  variety  of  her  titles,  some  derived  from 
her  functions  as  a  goddess,  and  others  from  the  localities 
where  her  worship  had  a  special  hold  on  the  people,  we  find 
Athene  at  Elis  styled  mother,^’  in  consequence  of  her  care 
over  the  nursing  children ;  in  Athens  and  several  other  places, 
Polias,  the  protectress  of  cities Soteira,  the  saviour/^ 
Glaucopis,  blue-eyed  goddess;’^  Parthenos,  the  virgin;’’ 
Hippia,  tamer  of  horses;”  Brgane,  mistress  of  indus¬ 
try  ;”  Nike,  the  ^ Victorious;  ”  and  Mechanitis,  ingenious.” 
Every  year  a  festival  lasting  several  days,  and  called  Panath- 
enaea,  was  held  in  her  honor  at  Athens,  to  commemorate 
the  part  she  had  taken  in  the  war  against  the  Giants  :  every 
fourth  year — that  is,  every  third  year  of  the  current  Olym¬ 
piad — it  was  celebrated  with  redoubled  splendor.  This  fes¬ 
tival  is  said  to  have  been  instituted  by  Theseus,  or  at  least  to 
have  first  derived  its  importance  from  him;  in  any  case  it 


101 


PALLAS  ATHENE,  OR  MINERVA. 

was  a  festival  of  very  great  antiquity.  Festal  processions 
were  formed,  athletic  games  were  held,  while  sacrifices  and 
banquets  took  place  on  a  large  scale — all  the  Athenians, 
whether  at  home  or  abroad  in  colonies,  having  the  privilege 
of  taking  part.  The  prizes  in  the  games  consisted  of  large 
painted  earthenware  vases  filled  with  pure  olive  oil,  the  pro¬ 
duct  of  the  tree  sacred  to  Athene.  Of  these  vases  a  small 
number  have  been  preserved  down  to  our  times.  On  one 
side  is  painted  a  figure  of  the  goddess  striding  forward  in 
the  attitude  of  hurling  her  spear,  with  a  column  on  each  side 
of  her,  to  indicate  the  race-course.  On  the  reverse  side  is  a 
view  of  the  contest  in  which  a  particular  vase  was  won.  But 
perhaps  the  chief  attraction  of  the  festival  was  the  procession 
in  which  a  new  robe  or  peplos,  woven  and  embroidered  for 
the  goddess  by  a  select  number  of  women  and  girls  in  Athens, 
was  carried  through  the  town  spread  like  a  sail  on  a  mast, 
placed  on  a  wagon  in  the  form  of  a  ship.  In  this  procession 
it  appears  as  if  the  whole  population  of  Attica  took  part,  the 
youth  of  the  nobility  on  horseback  or  in  chariots,  the  soldiery 
in  arms,  and  the  burgesses  with  their  wives  and  daughters  in 
holiday  attire.  The  new  robe  was  destined  for  the  very 
ancient  statue  of  Athene  which  was  preserved  in  the  Erech- 
theum.  This  custom  of  placing  actual  drapery  on  statues 
appears  to  have  been  handed  down  from  remote  times,  when 
the  art  of  sculpture  was  unequal  to  the  task  of  imitating  the 
Imman  figure,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  statue  of 
Athene,  of  which  we  are  speaking,  dated  from  that  early 
time.  The  magistrates  of  Athens  offered  sacrifices  to  her  at 
the  commencement  of  spring.  The  services  of  her  sanctuary 
were  conducted  by  two  virgins  elected  for  the  period  of  one 
year. 

In  Rome  the  worship  of  Minerva  was  conducted  with  as 
much  zeal  as  that  of  Athene  at  Athens,  her  character  as 
'goddess  of  wisdom  and  serious  thought  being  admirably  cal¬ 
culated  to  attract  a  people  like  the  Romans.  She  was  the 
protectress  of  their  arts  and  industries,  of  the  domestic  oper- 


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DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


•  ‘'.■•'•isl:*, I  j,  i:'i- I 

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■■''■•  '‘t  4 i  '■  i  ■  '■  '■  '■'■  ’ii 


ations  of  spinning  and  weaving  and  embroidering,  just  as 
she  was  among  the  Greeks.  In  Rome  she  had  several  tem¬ 
ples,  one  of  the  oldest  of  them  being  that  on  the  Capitol. 

A  festival,  which  lasted 
from  March  19th  to  23d, 
was  annually  held  in  her 
honor.  But  the  object 

connected  with  her,  which 
the  Romans  venerated 

above  all  things  else,  was 
the  Palladium,  or  an¬ 
cient  figure  of  the  god¬ 
dess,  the  story  of  which 
was  that  it  had  originally 
fallen  from  heaven,  and 
had  thereupon  become  the 
property  of  the  royal 

family  of  Troy,  the  pos¬ 
session  of  it  being  from 
that  time  always  con¬ 
sidered  an  assurance  of 
the  safety  of  that  city. 
But  in  the  course  of  the 
war  between  the  Greeks 

and  Trojans  it  was  se¬ 

cretly  carried  off  by  Dio- 
medes  and  Odysseus, 

upon  which  followed  the 
capture  of  the  town  by 
means  of  the  wooden 
horse.  Another  version  of  the  story  has  it  that  Aeneas  took 
it  with  him  when  he  fled  from  the  city;  and  in  consequence 
of  this  inconsistency  in  the  story  it  happened  in  later  times 
that  more  than  one  city  claimed  the  possession  of  the  real 
Palladium — as,  for  example,  Argos,  Athens,  and  Rome. 

Wherever  it  was  believed  to  be,  there  the  firm  conviction 


The  Palladium. 


PALLAS  ATHENE,  OR  MINERVA. 


103 


'  existed  that  the  endurance  of  the  city  depended  on  the  pos- 
n  session  of  the  image,  and  so  it  happened  afterward  that  the 
^  expression  Palladium  was  employed  in  a  wider  sense  to  ob- 

i  jects  thought  to  be  of  similar  importance;  and  wheu,  for 
11  instance,  we  hear  of  the  ''Palladium  of  Freedom  being 
^  carried  off,’^  we  understand  that  the  principal  provision  and 
I  security  of  freedom  has  been  lost.  The  symbols  of  Athene 
i'  were  the  owl,  the  cock,  the  snake,  and  the  olive  tree. 

In  works  of  art  Athene  generally  appears  as  a  virgin  of  serious 
a  aspect,  armed  with  helmet,  shield,  and  spear,  wearing  long,  full  drap- 
s  ery,  and  on  her  breast  the  aegis,  with  a  border  of  snakes,  and  the  face 
of  Medusa  in  the  centre.  She  is  often  accompanied  by  an  owl.  Of 
j'  the  many  statues  of  her,  the  two  most  famous  in  antiquity  as  works 

ii  of  art  were  those  by  the  sculptor  Phidias :  the  one  of  gold  and  ivory 
;  stood  in  her  great  temple  at  Athens,  the  Parthenon. 

The  other  was  of  bronze,  colossal  in  size,  and  stood  on  the  Acrop- 
i:  olis,  towering  above  the  temple  just  named,  the  crest  of  her  helmet 
j  and  point  of  her  spear  being  visible  from  the  sea  as  far  away  as  Cape 
I:  Sunium,  the  most  southern  point  of  Attica.  Her  attitude  was  that 
i  of  preparing  to  hurl  the  spear,  and  the  title  she  bore,  that  of  Proma- 
Ichos,  or  ‘‘Van  of  Battle.”  A  representation  of  the  statue  is  to  be 
seen  on  the  coins  of  Athens  on  which  a  view  of  the  Acropolis  is  given. 

The  last  record  we  have  of  the  statue  of  gold  and  ivory  is  in  the 
'year  375  A.  D.,  how  and  when  it  perished  remaining  still  a  mystery. 
The  attitude  of  the  bronze  statue  exists,  it  is  believed,  in  several 
I;  small  statuettes,  of  which  there  is  one  in  the  British  Museum,  which 
'  was  found  in  Athens.  On  the  painted  vases  we  find  many  represen- 
itations  of  her  birth,  of  her  contest  with  the  Giants,  of  her  assisting 
'heroes,  such  as  Perseus  and  Hercules,  in  their  exploits.  The  subjects 
i  of  the  sculptures,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  which  decorated  the 
'  pediments  of  the  Parthenon,  were,  in  the  front,  her  birth,  and  at  the 
::  back,  her  contest  with  Poseidon.  In  the  Erechtheum  at  Athens  was 
1  an  ancient  figure  of  the  goddess,  believed  to  have  fallen  from  heaven  ; 

!  while  another  ancient  figure  of  her,  the  Palladium  properly  so-called, 
was  preserved  in  the  city  under  the  care  of  a  priestly  family  named 
Byzigi.  It  also  was  believed  to  have  fallen  from  heaven.  In  it« 
i  presence  was  held  a  court  for  the  trial  of  cases  of  bloodshed. 

Murray — 9 


M  '  K«» 

c:  ^39 

« '5 


:riis 

Lf 

'ClHJ 


104 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


PHOEBUS  APOLLO,  HELIOS,  OB  SOL. 


From  the  sun  comes  our  physical  light,  but  that  light  k 
at  the  same  time  an  emblem  of  all  mental  illumination,  of 
knowledge,  truth,  and  right,  of  all  moral  purity;  and  in  this 
respect  a  distinction  was  made  between  it  as  a  mental  and  a 

physical  pheno¬ 
menon — a  dis¬ 
tinction  which 
placed  Phoe¬ 
bus  Apollo  on 
one  side  and 
Helios  on  the 
other.  Accord¬ 
ingly  Phoebus 
Apollo  is  the 
oracular  god 
who  throws 
light  on  the 
dark  ways  of 
the  future,  who 
slays  the  Py¬ 
thon,  that  mon¬ 
ster  of  darkness 
which  made  the 
oracle  at  Delphi 
inaccessible. 
He  is  the  god 
of  music  and 

song,  which  are  only  heard  where  light  and  security  reign 
and  the  possession  of  herds  is  free  from  danger.  Helios, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  the  physical  phenomenon  of  light, 
the  orb  of  the  sun,  which,  summer  and  winter,  rises  and  sets 
in  the  sky.  His  power  of  bringing  secrets  to  light  has 
been  already  seen  in  the  story  of  Vulcan  and  Venus, 


Helios,  or  Sol. 


PHOEBUS  APOLLO,  HELIOS,  OR  SOL. 


105 


The  myth  of  Apollo  is,  like  that  of  Aphrodite,  one  of 
J  the  oldest  in  the  Greek  system,  but,  unlike  the  latter,  which 
IS  at  least  partly  traceable  to  oriental  influence,  is  a  pure 
;  growth  of  the  Greek  mind.  !N^o  doubt  certain  oriental 
i  uatious  had  deities  of  the  sun  and  of  light  similar  in  some 
:  points  to  Apollo,  but  this  only  proves  the  simple  fact  that 
i  they  viewed  the  movements  of  the  sun  and  the  operations  of 
;  light  in  a  general  way  similarly  to  the  Greeks.  We  have 
<  seen  in  the  preceding  chapters  how  the  sky,  earth,  sea,  and 
( lower  world  were  personified  by  divine  beings  of  a  high 
I  order,  while  in  the  same  way  other  forces  and  powers  in 
1  nature  were  imagined  as  beings.  In  the  myth  of  Apollo 
i  we  shall  find  represented  the  various  operations  of  the  eternal 
i  light  of  the  sun . 

It  is  the  sun’s  rays,  or  the  arrows  of  Apollo,  that  every- 
s  where,  as  the  fields  and  gardens  teach  us,  quicken  life,  and 
(  foster  it  toward  ripeness;  through  them  a  new  life  springs  all 
,1  around,  and  in  the  warmth  of  their  soft,  kindly  light  the 
:  jubilant  voice  of  nature  is  heard  and  awakens  an  echo  in  the 
:  human  soul.  At  the  same  time  these  arrows  destroy  the  life  of 
I  plants  and  animals;  even  man  falls  under  them  in  southern 
;  climates,  such  as  Greece.  Their  light  penetrates  to  dark 
(Corners,  and  is  capable  of  reaching  to  inmost  recesses.  All 
I  these  ideas  are  represented  in  the  myth  of  Apollo,  who  is 
[therefore  conceived  in  various  ways  corresponding  to  the 
i genial  radiance  of  the  sun,  with  all  'its  friendly  influences  : 
i(l)  as  the  personification  of  youth  and  beauty;  (2)  as  god  of 
1  earthly  blessings;  (3)  as  god  of  the  herds  that  graze  on  the 
(fields  which  are  warmed  by  him — a  character  in  which  he 
{appeared  herding  the  cattle  of  Laomedon,  which  multiplied* 
I  largely  under  his  care,  and  when  alone  piping  on  his  flute, 
till  the  wild  beasts  were  attracted  from  their  dens;  (4)  as  god 
iof  medicine,  wlio  provided  for  the  growth  of  healing  plants; 
(5)  as  god  of  music,  for  everywhere  were  heard  happy,  joyful 
sounds,  when  his  kindly  beams  spread  light  and  warmth  over 
:  nature ;  (6)  as  god  of  oracles  which  reveal  the  secrets  of  the 


106 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


future,  as  the  light  of  heaven  dispels  all  darkness,  and  detests 
nocturnal  gloom. 

The  sun  appears  ever  young  and  powerful  in  the  heavens, 
and  so  also  must  eternal  youth,  strength,  and  endurance  be 
ascribed  to  Apollo.  For  this  reason  he  came  to  be  a  pro¬ 
tector  of  youth  when  engaged  in  athletic  contests,  as  well  as 
in  war.  But  summer  heat  produces  plagues,  and  so  it  was 
necessary  to  view  Apollo  as  the  cause  of  the  same,  as  the 
god  of  death,  whose  unerring  arrows  carry  destruction  with 
them.  In  this  latter  phase  of  his  character  we  find  him 
styled  Carneius,  and  worshipped  with  particular  zeal  in 
Sparta,  a  festival  being  held  annually  in  his  honor  in  the 
month  of  August,  the  entire  population  withdrawing  from 
the  town  and  for  several  days  encamping  in  tents  in  the 
neighborhood,  like  a  besieging  army — the  object  being,  by 
living  in  tents,  to  avoid  the  injurious  effects  of  the  intense 
heat  of  the  dog-days.  The  name  of  this  festival  was  Car- 
neia.  As  a  religious  ceremony,  the  intention  of  it  was  to 
appease  the  dreaded  god,  and  accordingly  it  was  attended 
with  great  reverence  in  Sparta,  and  from  thence  transplanted 
to  Gyrene,  a  Greek  colony  on  the  north  coast  of  Africa,  to 
the  islands  of  Rhodes  and  Sicily,  and  to  the  Greek  cities  in 
lower  Italy — such  as  Tarentum  and  Sybaris.  The  finest  of 
the  temples  in  honor  of  this  Apollo  was  at  Amyclae. 

Another  phase  of  his  character,  in  which  his  destroying 
power  is  combined  with  his  function  as  god  of  youth  and 
blooming  vegetation,  is  represented  in  the  myth  from  which 
he  derived  the  title  of  Hyacinthus,  and  enjoyed  a  form  of 
worship  which  was  for  the  most  part  peculiar  to  the  Pelo¬ 
ponnesus,  the  modern  IVIorea,  extending  over  the  whole  of 
the  south  coast  of  it,  to  Sicyon,  Messenia,  Amyclae,  and 
Sparta.  It  was  accompanied  by  laments  sung  from  place  to 
place,  and  by  poetic  competitions,  the  idea  to  be  conveyed  in 
the  whole  ceremony  being  the  transitoriness  of  nature  and 
the  return  of  life  again  in  course  of  time.  In  this  spirit 
the  festival  of  the  Hyacinthia  was  celebrated  annually  at 


PHOEBUS  APOLLO,  HELIOS,  OP  SOL. 


107 


^  Sparta  in  July,  and  lasted  nine  days,  commencing  with  sad- 
1  ness  and  expressions  of  grief,  and  concluding  with  joyous 
‘  excitement. 

The  myth  to  which  this  festival  related  tells  how  Apollo 
I  accidentally  killed,  in  throwing  his  disc,  the  beautiful  Hya- 
:  cinthus,  whom  he  dearly  loved, 
j  the  youngest  son  of  Amyclas ;  or, 
i  in  another  version,  how  Zephy- 
’  rus,  the  wind-god,  who  also  loved 
,  the  boy,  hurled  back  the  disc  at 
;i  the  head  of  Hyacinthus,  out  of 
{ jealousy  toward  Apollo.  The  sor¬ 
row  at  the  beginning  of  the  festival 
:  of  the  Hyacinth ia  was  to  com- 
1  memorate  his  death,  while  the 
)  belief  that  he  had  been  trans- 
'  formed  into  the  flower  which 
sprang  up  where  his  blood  fell, 

1  and  bears  his  name,  gave  occasion 
afterward  to  happy  feelings  of 
1  confidence  in  his  return.  Clearly 
I  the  object  of  the  myth,  like  that 
( of  Persephone,  was  to  point  to 
i  the  alternating  decay  and  return 
‘  of  life  in  nature,  which  in  this 
I  instance  is  conceived  under  the  form  of  a  youth,  the  disc  of 
^Apollo  being  equally  clearly  a  symbol  of  the  sun,  which 
<  scorches  up  vegetation. 

A  similar  idea  seems  to  run  through  the  story  which  relates 
I  how  Apollo  and  Artemis,  taking  offence  at  Niobe  because, 
kwith  a  mother’s  pride,  she  had  boasted  herself  higher  than 
,  Leto  as  the  mother  of  beautiful  children,  shot  down  her 
1  children  —  Apollo  the  sons,  and  Artemis  the  daughters. 

'  When  one  after  another  had  fallen  before  the  angry  deities, 

I  all  but  the  youngest  daughter,  Niobe,  with  the  child  clinging 
1  to  her,  implored  them  in  anguish  to  spare  the  last  of  her 


m% 

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108 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


many  children,  but  could  not  avert  the  fatal  shaft.  When 
it  struck,  her  mother’s  heart  became  like  a  stone,  and  she 
refused  to  murmur  or  complain.  She  was  transformed,  it 
was  said,  into  a  rugged  rock,  down  which  tears  trickled 
silently. 

While  sometimes  bringing  a  pleasant  death  with  his  arrows, 
Apollo  at  other  times,  as  during  the  Trojan  war,  when  he  took 
part  against  the  Greeks,  appears  to  exercise  his  destroying 
power  with  irresistible  fury.  Whole  ranks  of  fighting  men 
fall  dead  when  he  shakes  his  aegis,  and  the  walls  raised  by 
the  Greeks  tumble  like  structures  of  sand  made  by  children 
at  play. 

As  god  of  the  sun  in  its  friendly  influence  upon  the  face 
of  nature,  we  find  Apollo  styled  Tharg-elius,  and  a  festival, 
called  Tharg-elia,  being  held  in  his  honor  at  Athens  in  the 
month  of  May,  to  celebrate  the  ripening  of  the  fruits  of  the 
field  under  the  warmth  of  the  sun,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
serve  as  a  festival  of  expiation  in  memory  of  the  human 
sacrifices  of  ancient  days.  In  August  occurred  another  fes¬ 
tival  at  Athens,  called  Metag-eitnia,  at  which  Apollo,  as  god 
of  harvest  and  plenty,  was  thought  of  as  entertaining  the 
other  gods  and  encouraging  neighborly  feelings  among  his 
worshippers.  In  October  the  first-fruits  of  the  field  were 
presented  to  him  as  a  sacrifice,  and  in  September  was  held  a 
festival  at  which  he  was  invoked  as  a  helper  in  battle. 
Under  the  title  of  Nomius  he  was  regarded  by  herdsmen  as 
their  patron  god.  But  the  genial  influence  of  the-  sun  is 
felt  on  the  sea  as  well  as  on  land,  and  for  this  reason  he  was 
styled  Delphinius,  and  in  this  capacity  worshipped,  among 
other  places,  at  Athens,  where  his  temple,  called  the  Delphi- 
nian,  was  in  early  times  a  place  of  refuge  and  a  court  for 
the  trial  of  capital  crimes.  An  annual  festival  was  held  in 
May,  called  Delphinia,  to  commemorate  the  tribute  of  seven 
boys  and  seven  girls,  whom  Athens  had  been  compelled  in 
remote  times  to  send  every  year  to  Crete  to  be  offered  as 
sacrifices  to  the  Minotaur. 


IJM., 


PHOEBUS  APOLLO,  HELIOS,  OR  SOL.  109 

As  a  god  of  the  sun  in  its  annual  course,  Apollo  was 
!  thought  to  spend  the  winter  away  in  a  northern  region  among 
\  a  mythical  people  called  Hyperboreans,  to  whom  it  was 

i  always  light.  As  the  winter  approached  poets  sang  farewell 
K  to  him.  At  his  birth  Zeus  had  given  him  a  mitra  (or  cap), 
I  a  lyre,  and  a  car  drawn  by  swans,  in  which  he  was  to  pro- 
K  ceed  to  Delphi,  but  the  swans  carried  him  off  to  the  bright 
I  land  of  the  Hyperboreans.  When  the  summer  came  the 

ii  priests  of  Delphi  hailed  his  return  in  festal  songs.  The 
voice  of  the  nightingale  welcomed  him  back.  A  peculiar 

!i  festival,  the  Daphnephoria,  was  held  at  Thebes  every  eighth 
j  year  in  honor  of  Apollo  Ismenius,  the  ceremony  consisting 
»  of  a  piocession  in  which  was  carried  a  branch  of  olive  hung 
^  with  wreaths  and  representations  of  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  and 
5  planets,  and  called  the  Copo.  From  the  statement  that  the 
i  number  of  wreaths  was  365,  to  indicate  the  days  of  the  year, 

’  it  may  be  gathered  that  the  festival  as  we  know  it  was  not 
yof  very  high  antiquity,  symbols  so  obvious  as  this  being 
i  usually  of  late  origin.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  sup- 
)  posed,  from  the  character  of  Apollo  as  sun-god,  that  the 
»  ceremony  had  existed  in  a  simpler  form  in  early  times.  The 
i  number  seven  was  sacred  to  him.  Sacred  swans  made  a  circle 

I  seven  times  round  the  island  of  Delos  at  his  birth,  which 
w  occurred  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  month.  From  this  he 
£  took  the  title  of  Hebdomeius. 

One  of  the  oldest  forms  of  his  worship  appears  to  have 
)>  been  that  in  which  he  was  regarded  simply  as  god  of  light, 

II  and  styled  Lycius,  the  original  centre  of  this  worship  being 
-  Lycia  in  the  southwest  of  Asia  Minor. 

Turning  now  to  that  phase  of  his  character  in  which  he 
t  represents  the  light  of  the  sun  as  the  symbol  of  an  all-seeing 
land  all-knowing  power,  we  find  Apollo  regarded  as  the  great 
ligod  of  oracles,  with  Delphi  as  the  principal  centre  of  his 
^  activity.  His  oracles  were  there  communicated  through  a 
II  priestess,  with  the  title  of  Pythia,  who  sat  aloft  on  a  sacred 
r  tripod  of  gold  which  stood  above  the  opening  of  a  chasm  in 


5  tr; 
«  'K 

>*'i. 


•tcdti 


\ 


no 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


the  rock.  Out  of  this  chasm  rose  a  continuous  stream  of 
cold  vapor,  which  drove  the  priestess  into  a  state  of  frenzy 
when  she  sat  above  it.  Her  method  of  prophesying  was  by 
uttering  in  her  frenzy  single  words  or  sounds,  which  persons 
educated  for  the  purpose  caught  up  and  put  into  verse,  gen¬ 
erally  in  such  a  cunning  way  as  to  have,  instead  of  a  clear 
incontrovertible  meaning,  a  double  and  easily  mistaken  im¬ 
port. 

To  give  one  example  :  the  oracle,  when  consulted  by  the 
Athenians  for  advice  as  to  how  to  meet  best  the  approach  of 
the  Persian  force,  returned  as  its  answer,  Trust  to  your 
citadel  of  wood.^’  This  the  Athenian  sages  misunderstood, 
and  proceeded  to  have  the  Acropolis  protected  with  wooden 
bulwarks,  which  naturally  could  not  for  a  moment  resist  the 
enemy.  Themistocles,  however,  and  the  younger  men  of  the 
day,  declared  that  the  words  referred  to  the  fleet,  and  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  persuading  the  people  to  take  to  the  ships,  the 
result  of  which  Avas  the  glorious  victory  of  Salamis.  Had 
the  interpretation  of  the  sages  been  accepted  generally,  the 
oracle  would  have  had  the  answer  ready,  that  it  meant  the 
fleet.  It  was  only  by  such  tricks  that  the  oracle  of  Delphi, 
clever  and  far-seeing  as  the  priests  were,  could  have  main¬ 
tained  its  reputation  for  unerringness  and  its  vast  influence. 

Of  the  same  nature,  but  apparently  older,  were  the  oracles 
of  Apollo  in  Asia  Minor;  as,  for  instance,  those  of  Colophon 
and  Didymi  near  Miletus,  the  latter  of  which  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  priestly  family  of  Branchidae.  Sometimes  the 
god  exercised  the  power  of  communicating  the  prophetic  gift 
to  mortals,  as  he  did  to  Cassandra,  and  to  Deiphobe,  a 
daughter  of  Glaucus.  The  latter  lived  in  a  grotto  beside 
the  town  of  Cumae,  in  the  Campania  of  Italy,  and  was 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Cumaean  Sibyl.  It  was  from  her 
that  Tarquin  the  Proud,  the  last  king  of  Pome,  acquired  the 
three  Sibylline  books  which  contained  important  prophecies 
concerning  the  fate  of  Rome,  and  were  held  in  great  rever¬ 
ence  by  the  Romans.  They  were  preserved  carefully  in  the 


m 


PHOEBUS  APOLLO,  HELIOS,  OB  SOL. 

Capitol  down  to  the  time  of  Sulla,  wlien  they  perished  in  a 
fire.  In  Grreece  also  was  a  famous  seer  or  prophet,  and 
favorite  of  Apollo  Epimenides,  of  whom  the  myth  reports 
that  when  a  herdsman  he  fell  asleep  in  a  grotto,  slept  for 
fifty-six  years,  and  on  awakening  found  himself  endowed 
with  the  prophetic  gift  in  a  high  degree. 

Connected  with  his  gift  of  prophecy  was  his  power  of 
music.  For  not  only  were  the  oracles  expressed  in  verse, 
but  the  strains  of  music,  when  spontaneous,  were  thought  to 
originate  in  an  inspired  foresight  into  the  future.  As  god 
of  music  he  was  leader  of  the  Muses,  Musagetes ;  and  him¬ 
self  played  on  a  wonderful  lyre  which  Hermes  had  made  for 
him. 

At  Delphi  he  was  styled  Apollo  Pythius,  and  enjoyed 
several  annual  festivals,  such  as  the  Theophania,  to  cele¬ 
brate  his  return  from  the  Hyperboreans,  and  the  Theoxenia, 
at  which,  it  being  harvest  time,  he  was  supposed  to  receive 
the  other  gods  at  his  hospitable  table.  The  principal  festival, 
however,  was  that  at  which  the  Pythian  dames  were  held. 
The  games  had  been  instituted  to  commemorate  the  victory 
of  Apollo  over  the  dragon  Python,  which  resisted  his  entrance 
upon  his  duties  as  oracular  god  at  Delphi.  They  were  held 
at  first  every  seventh,  afterward  every  ninth,  and  latterly 
every  fifth  year. 

As  being  himself  possessed  of  eternal  youth,  and  of  the 
finest  conceivable  athletic  form,  Apollo  came  to  be  regarded 
as  a  patron  of  the  athletic  contests  of  youth,  and  in  this 
capacity  ranked  with  Hercules  and  Hermes  (Mercury).  He 
was  the  god  also  to  whom  persons  polluted  either  with  disease 
or  crime  turned  for  purification,  and  on  this  account  his  high 
power  was  brought  home  frequently  and  seriously  to  a  great 
part  of  the  people.  He  was,  therefore,  properly  viewed  as 
the  father  of  Aesculapius,  the  god  of  medicine. 

The  story  of  the  birth  of  Apollo  is  that  he,  with  his  twin 
sister  Artemis,  was  a  son  of  Zeus  and  Leto  (or  Latona); 
that  Leto,  after  wandering  long  hither  and  thither  pursued 


112 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


by  the  jealous  Hera,  at  last  found  shelter  in  the  island  of 
Delos,  in  the  Aegean  Sea,  and  there  was  delivered.  It  was 
said  that  hitherto  that  island  had  been  only  a  waste  rock 
driven  about  in  the  sea,  but  that  it  became  fixed  in  its  present 

position  on  the  oc¬ 
casion  of  the  birth 
of  Apollo  and  Arte¬ 
mis,  an  event  which 
was  celebrated  by  a 
blaze  of  golden  light 
shed  over  the  isl¬ 
and,  while  sacred 
swans  flew  around 
encircling  it  seven 
times.  This  was  in 
May,  and  for  that 
reason  his  festival 
at  Delos,  the  Delia, 
was  held  in  that 
month.  But  Leto 
was  compelled,  through  the  pursuit  of  Hera,  to  abandon 
her  children.  They  were  entrusted  to  Themis,  a  name  which 
signifies  justice,’’  and  indicates  here  the  indisputable  sense 
of  right  present  with  Apollo  from  his  birth.  By  her  he  was 
fed  on  ambrosia  and  nectar,  upon  which  he  grew  so  strong, 
and  that,  too,  so  quickly,  that  within  only  a  few  hours  after 
his  birth  he  was  a  youth  of  dazzling  appearance,  and  escaped 
his  divine  nurse,  proclaiming  that  his  destiny  was  to  be  a 
bowman,  a  player  on  the  lyre,  and  to  give  truthful  oracles  to 
mankind. 

To  accomplish  the  end  of  his  ambition  he  set  out  at  once 
on  a  pilgrimage  to  search  for  a  suitable  place  for  an  oracle, 
neither  too  public  nor  too  retired.  After  searching  through 
many  districts  of  Greece  he  arrived  at  the  quiet  rocky  valley 
of  Delphi,  or  Pytho,  which  he  recognized  as  the  desired  spot, 
on  account  of  its  peaceful  position  in  the  heart  of  Greece. 


Leto,  or  Latona. 


llr  ' 

r.;® 


•tv  Ktuyi 

WfK 

f.'p'a 

f:yii 

•fi 

IU>|>4 


C'l9 


NIOBE. 


PHOEBUS  APOLLO,  HELIOS,  OP  SOL. 


Ikf 


Moreover,  there  had 
been  an  oracle  of 
Themis  there  from  a 
remote  early  time,  and 
she  was  willing  to 
hand  over  her  duties 
to  the  young  god.  A 
terrible  dragon,  how¬ 
ever,  called  Python, 
stood  in  the  way,  re¬ 
fused  entrance,  and 
tried  to  repel  him;  but 
in  vain,  for  the  young 
god,  confident  in  the 
unerring  aim  of  his 
arrows,  attacked  the 
monster,  and  slew  it 
after  a  short  combat. 
In  this  way  he  ac¬ 
quired  his  world- 
famed  oracle,  and  from 
his  victory  over  the 
dragon  obtained  the 
title  of  Pythius. 

From  that  time  for¬ 
ward,  with  one  ex¬ 
ception,  Apollo  re¬ 
mained  in  undisputed 
possession  of  the  sacred 
tripod  and  oracle  at 
Delphi,  and  that  was 
when  he  had  to  take  up 
their  defence  against 
Hercules,  who,  be¬ 
cause  the  acting  priest¬ 
ess  did  not  prophesy  as 
he  wished,  offered;  JUv?* 


Marsyas 


II 


II 

•'UC 

UK  Mil  Hi® 

•HX'ltUII 


'C;ra 

IM.l'il  gw 


114 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


violence  and  carried  off  the  tripod.  Apollo  hastened  to  the 
aid  of  his  priestess,  and  Zeus  had  to  settle  the  quarrel  be¬ 
tween  his  two  sons,  who  thereafter  lived  in  the  closest 
friendship. 

Amongst  the  other  incidents  of  his  life,  it  is  related  that 
Apollo  once  incurred  the  severe  displeasure  of  Zeus,  and  was 
driven  for  a  time  out  of  Olympus,  through  having  shot 
at  some  of  the  Cyclopes  in  revenge  for  Zeus  having  struck 
Aesculapius,  a  son  of  Apollo,  with  a  thunderbolt.  During 
his  exile  on  earth,  he  acted  as  a  herdsman  to  his  friend 
Admetus,  the  king  of  Pherae,  in  Thessaly,  and  again  in  the 
same  capacity  to  Laomedon,  prince  of  Troy.  In  vexation 
at  his  banishment  he  joined  with  Poseidon  in  an  attempt  to 
dethrone  Zeus.  But  the  scheme  failed,  and  both  deities  were 
in  consequence  sentenced  to  assist  in  building  the  walls  of 
Troy.  Laomedon  refused  to  give  them  the  payment  agreed 
on  for  the  service,  and  Apollo  revenged  himself  by  sending  a 
I  dreadful  pestilence  which  depopulated  the  town  and  neigh- 
*  borhood  of  Troy.  During  the  time  of  his  servitude  he  had 
also  a  quarrel  with  Pan,  who  insisted  that  the  flute  was  a 
better  instrument  than  the  lyre.  The  decision,  which  was 
left  to  Midas,  a  king  of  Lydia,  \vas  given  in  favor  of  Pan, 
for  which  Apollo  punished  Midas  by  causing  his  ears  to  grow 
long  like  those  of  an  ass.  Marsyas,  too,  had  boasted  that 
he  could  surpass  Apollo  in  the  art  of  playing  on  the  flute, 
and  for  this  had  to  sufter  the  cruel  punishment  of  being 
flayed  alive. 

In  Pome  the  worship  of  Apollo  was  not  established  till 
320  B.  C.,  a  temple  being  raised  to  him  in  that  year  in  con¬ 
sequence  of  a  pestilence  that  had  visited  the  city.  After¬ 
ward  a  second  temple  to  him  was  erected  on  the  Palatine 
hill.  The  Apollinarian  G-ames  were  instituted  during  the 
second  Punic  war. 

No  distinction  was  made  by  the  Greek  poets  of  later  times 
between  Apollo  and  the  sun-god,  Helios.  As  little  did  the 
Romans  distinguish  between  Apollo  and  Sol.  In  both  cases 


PHOEBUS  APOLLO,  HELTOS,  OP  SOL, 


115 


the  confusion  arose  from  the  fact  that  the  fundamental  idea 
of  both  deities  was  that  of  sun-gods.  The  title  of  Phoebus 
plainly  designated  Apollo  as  god  of  pure  streaming  light, 
particularly  of  the  light  of  heaven,  and  this  phase  of  his 
character  was  made  more  conspicuous  by  the  fact  of  his 


Apollo,  Pan,  and  Midas.  ^ 


f) 

mothers  name  being  Leto,  darkness, ’’  strictly  ''goddess  ZC 
of  the  dark  night.  But  this,  his  original  signification,  , 

came  in  time  to  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  variety  of  other  func-  ^ 

tions  which  he  assumed.  Helios,  or  Hyperion,  on  the  con-  ftjS 
trary,  remained,  properly  speaking,  only  the  orb  of  the  sun 
which  is  visible  in  the  heavens  by  day,  and  disappears  by 
night  in  a  regular  course.  That  was  the  only  signification 
he  had.  The  number  seven  was  sacred  to  him,  as  it  was  to 
Apollo,  and  in  the  island  of  Trinacia,  supposed  to  be  Sicily, 
it  was  said,  he  had  seven  herds  of  cows  and  seven  herds  of 
lambs,  fifty  in  each  herd,  which  never  increased  or  dimin- 


DEITIES  OE  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


116 

ished  in  numbers.  It  was  one  of  his  pleasures  to  see  them 
grazing  when  he  rose  in  the  morning  and  when  he  descended 
in  the  evening. 

Of  the  sons  of  Helios  the  most  famous  is  Phaethon,  of 
whom  it  is  said  that  he  once  had  a  dispute  about  his  origin 
with  Epaphus,  a  son  of  Zeus  and  lo,  and  in  consequence 
begged  Helios,  if  he  really  was  his  father,  to  prove  himself 
such  by  granting  one  request;  upon  which  Helios  called  the 
river  Styx  to  witness  that  he  would  not  refuse  to  grant  it. 


Tlie  request  was,  that  he,  Phaethon,  should  be  permitted  for 
one  day  to  drive  the  chariot  of  the  sun.  Helios,  astonished 
at  the  boldness  of  the  request,  and  alarmed  at  the  danger 
that  threatened  his  son  in  such  an  undertaking,  endeavored 
to  move  him  from  his  determination.  But  Phaethon  only 
clung  to  the  bargain  all  the  more  firmly,  and  Helios,  finding 
himself  bound  by  his  oath,  instructed  his  son  how  to  drive 
and  manage  the  horses,  and  handed  over  to  him  the  task  for 
one  day.  The  youth,  however,  through  being  unused  to  the 


PHOEBUS  APOLLO,  HELIOS,  OR  SOL. 


117 

work^  and  unac(^LiaintGd  with  the  right  way^  soon  became 
confused,  and  lost  his  strength  and  his  senses.  The  spirited 
horses,  named  Pyroses,  Eons,  Aethon,  and  Phlegon,  wheeled 
out  of  the  right  course,  and  brought  the  chariot  of  the  sun 
so  near  to  the  earth  that  in  some  places 
the  latter  took  fire,  fountains  were 
dried  up,  rivers  began  to  boil,  and  part 
of  the  human  race  became  black  in 
color.  Zeus,  alarmed  at  the  unexpected 
danger  in  which  both  heaven  and  earth 
were  thus  placed,  slew  Phaethon  with 
a  stroke  of  lightning,  and  cast  him 
from  the  chariot  of  the  sun  down  into 
the  river  Eridanus.  The  three  sisters 
of  Phaethon,  Heliades,  as  they  were 
called — that  is,  daughters  of  Helios, 

Phaethusa,  Aeg'le,  and  Lampetia, 
wept  for  him  for  a  long  time,  and 
finally  became  transformed  into  larch 
trees,  that  overhang  the  river^s  bank, 
the  tears  that  continually  flowed  from 
them  being  changed  by  the  sun  into  amber  (eleJctron).  Phae¬ 
thon' s  friend  Cycnus  mourned  his  loss  deeply,  and  was 
transformed  into  a  swan,  while  Helios  was  so  grieved  at  his 
son  s  death  that  only  the  entreaties  of  the  gods  could  prevail 
on  him  to  resume  the  reins  of  the  chariot  of  the  sun. 

The  symbols  of  Helios  were  horses'  heads,  a  crown  of 
seven  rays,  a  cornucopia,  and  a  ripened  fruit.  The  symbols 
of  Apollo  were  the  wolf,  swan,  raven,  stag,  dolphin,  laurel, 
and  lyre. 

In  works  of  art  Apollo  is  usually  represented  as  having  the  figure 
of  a  youthful  athlete — perhaps  the  finest  existing  statue  of  him  being 
the  Apollo  Belvedere  of  the  Vatican.  His  hair  is  long,  and  usually 
tied,  like  that  of  his  sister  Artemis,  in  a  large  knot  above  the  fore¬ 
head.  In  the  character  of  Musagetes  he  wears  long  ample  drapery 
girt  at  the  waist,  a  diadem  round  his  head,  and  long  tresses  falling 

Murray — lo 


% 


118  DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 

oil  ii.s  sLioalders.  Though  the  general  representation  of  him  is  that 
in  which  he  is  engaged  in  playing  on  the  lyre,  or  resting  from  doing 
so,  we  find  him  also  with  bow  and  arrows,  as  Sauroctonos,  killing  a 
lizard,  holding  forth  his  aegis  to  destroy  his  enemies,  and  present  at 
the  flaying  of  Marsyas. 

ARTEMIS,  OR  DIANA;  AND  SELENE,  OR  LUNA. 

Originally  Artemis  was  the  divine  personification  of  the 
moon,  just  as  her  brother  Apollo  was  originally  god  of  the 
sun.  But  by  degrees,  as  the  moon  came  to  be  viewed  like 
the  sun,  on  the  one  hand  as  a  mere  illuminating  orb,  and  on 
the  other  as  possessing  a  real  or  apparent  and  generally  be¬ 
lieved  influence  upon  vegetation,  and  on  human  as  well  as 
animal  life,  there  grew  up  a  distinction  between  moon- 
goddesses  of  two  kinds,  corresponding  to  the  sun  gods  of 
two  kinds.  The  one  was  Selene,  or  Luna,  whose  significa¬ 
tion  was  merely  that  of  goddess  of  the  orb  of  night,  as 
Helios,  the  sun,  was  of  the  orb  of  day.  The  other  was 
Artemis,  or  Diana,  who  embraced  in  her  character  all  the 
other  functions  exercised  by  the  moon  on  earthly  life;  and 
accordingly,  like  Apollo,  became  the  subject  of  a  largely 
developed  religious  belief;  while  the  myth  of  Selene,  on  the 
contrary,  like  that  of  Helios,  was  but  little  and  sparingly 
improved  upon. 

Great  as  was  the  variety  of  the  real  and  fancied  influences 
of  the  moon  upon  natural  life,  proportionately  great  was  the 
variety  in  the  myth  of  Artemis — a  locality  of  worship  some¬ 
times,  at  other  times  a  particular  point  of  view  of  her  char¬ 
acter  determining  the  phase  of  it.  And  further,  it  should  be 
observed  that  many  peculiar  features  in  the  myths  of  Arte¬ 
mis  are  traceable  to  the  fact  of  her  being  twin-sister  of 
Apollo,  whose  inner  and  spiritual  qualities  she  was  believed 
to  share. 

It  was  observed  that  the  vegetation  of  warm  southern 
lands  spread  and  flourished  most  under  the  quickening  influ¬ 
ence  of  the  coolness  of  night  and  the  fall  of  dew,  which 


ARTEMIS,  OR  DIANA;  AND  SELENE,  OR  LUNA.  I19 

often  for  whole  months  was  a  substitute  for  the  missing  rains. 
It  was  known  by  experience  that  tfie  fall  of  dew  is  most 
copious  when  the  sky  is  clear  and  the  moon  sheds  her  pure 
light  and  hence  to  Artemis  was  ascribed  the  cause  of  fer 


Artemis,  or  Diana. 


tility  in  this  direction.  Hence  she  was  believed  to  roam  by 
night  through  woods  and  groves,  over  hills  and  valleys, 
accompanied  by  the  nymphs  of  the  fountains;  beside  rivers, 
fountains,  and  marshes  her  presence  was  felt.  But  the  pres- 


120 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


ence  of  the  moon  in  the  heavens  gave  security  to  travellers 
and  to  herds^  especially  from  the  attacks  of  wild  animals, 
whose  enemy  Artemis  was,  therefore,  thought  to  be.  Under 
the  title  of  Agrotera  she  was  the  patron  goddess  of  hunts¬ 
men,  her  favorite  hunting-ground  being  Arcadia,  with  its 
many  heights  and  glens  well- wooded  and  well-watered . 
Here  she  was  worshipped  under  the  form  of  a  bear,  and 
called  Calliste,  the  Arcadians,  or  bear-people,  boasting  their 
descent  from  her.  On  the  other  hand,  the  regularly  recur¬ 
ring  absence  of  the  moon  from  the  heavens,  which  could 
only  have  been  regarded  as  due  to  a  voluntary  act  on  the 
part  of  the  goddess,  showed  that  though  opposed  to  wild 
animals,  she  could  also  employ  them  for  the  purpose  of  pun¬ 
ishing  men,  and  to  illustrate  this,  the  story  was  told  of  her 
having  sent  among  the  Aetolians  the  so-called  Calydonian 
boar,  which  laid  waste  their  fields,  till  after  a  great  hunt  it 
was  slain  by  Meleager  and  Atalanta.  As  a  huntress  her 
favorite  animal  was  the  stag,  because  its  swiftness  gave  the 
best  opportunity  for  her  method  of  capture,  which  was  by 
bow  and  speed  of  foot.  As  an  instance  of  how  severely  she 
would  punish  the  wanton  slaying  of  the  stag,  there  is  a  story 
of  how  for  such  a  crime  on  the  part  of  Agamemnon  she 
detained  the  Greek  fleet,  on  its  way  to  Troy,  in  the  harbor 
of  Aulis,  and  exacted  from  him  the  sacrifice  of  his  daughter 
Iphigenia.  Actaeon,  the  huntsman,  had  seen  the  goddess 
bathing,  and  for  this  offence  to  her  modesty  was  transformed 
into  a  stag,  and  devoured  by  his  own  hounds — a  story  which 
appears  to  illustrate  the  destructive  influence  of  the  dog-star, 
Sirius.  Another  hunter  whom  she  slew  with  her  sweet 
arrows  was  Orion,  a  personification  of  the  bright  constella¬ 
tion,  which  at  the  beginning  of  summer  is  seen  in  early 
morning  in  the  east,  where  it  remains  until  extinguished  by 
the  morning  light.  To  express  this  in  the  form  of  a  myth, 
Orion  was  said  to  have  been  too  pressing  in  his  advances 
toward  Eos,  the  morning,  and  for  this  the  goddess  of  the 
moon  slew  him. 


ARTEMIS,  OR  DIANA;  AND  SELENE,  OR  LUNA.  121 


From  the  coincidence  observed  between  the  courses  of  the 
moon  and  the  ebb  and  flow  of  tides,  Artemis  came  to  be 
viewed  as  a  goddess  who  protected  the  occupation  of  the 
fishermen,  not  only  on  the  shore  and  on  arms  of  the  sea,  but 
also  on  lakes  and  rivers.  In  this  character  she  bore  the 
name  of  Dictynna,  or  Britomartis,  and  was  worshipped 
with  zeal  among  other  places  in  the  island  of  Crete,  where, 
to  account  for  the  former  of  her  two  names,  the  story  was 
told  of  her  having,  to  escape  the  pursuit  of  Minos,  thrown 
herself  from  a  rock  into  the  sea,  upon  which  she  was  caught 
in  a  fisherman’s  net. 

From  the  joyous  feelings  awakened  by  calm  moonlight, 
and  perhaps  partly  from  her  relationship  to  Apollo,  she  was 
described  as  fond  of  music  and  the  dance — a  view  of  her 
character  which  appears  to  have  presented  itself  in  strong 
light  to  the  people  of  Arcadia. 

By  whatever  process  the  belief  was  arrived  at,  whether 
from  some  comparison  which  suggested  itself  between  the 
life  of  man  and  the  waxing  and  waning  of  the  moon,  or 
whether  because  mankind  at  birth  seemed  to  come  out  of 
night  into  the  light  of  day,  we  find  Artemis  represented  as 
the  guardian  and  helper  of  childbirth,  with  the  title  of 
Bilithyia,  Ilithyia,*  or  Eleutho.  She  was  throughout 
looked  upon  as  a  goddess  of  the  female  productive  power  in 
nature,  and  accordingly  the  care  and  nursing  of  children 
through  their  illness  were  placed  under  her  supervision.  A 
festival,  accompanied  by  the  dancing  of  young  girls,  was 
held  in  her  honor  as  the  goddess  of  youth,  in  Messenia, 
Laconia,  Elis,  and  elsewhere  in  Greece.  Similarly  from 
the  notion  that  mankind  after  death  seems  to  sink  into  night 
again,  she  came  to  be  viewed  as  goddess  of  death,  particu¬ 
larly  of  that  manner  of  death  which  could  not  be  assigned 
to  a  known  cause — it  being  said  of  those  who  were  stricken 
suddenly,  without  an  ostensible  cause,  such  as  an  injury  or 

*  Both  names  are  also  assigned  to  Hera,  while  Ilithyia  herself  is  described  as  a 
daughter  of  Zeus  and  Hera. 


3 

■>2 


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« 

•urn. 


122 


DETTIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


wound,  that  Apollo  or  Artemis  had  laid  them  low  with  a 
kindly  arrow  ;  and  in  these  cases  the  death  of  men  was 
ascribed  to  Apollo,  and  of  women  to  Artemis,  as  a  rule. 

From  the  fact  that  the  moon,  with  its  pure  serene  light, 
naturally  suggested,  as  it  does  to  us  also,  the  idea  of  a  modest 
pure  virgin,  Artemis,  as  her  name  implies,  the  modest, 
spotless  goddess,^  ^  came  to  be  looked  on  as  a  virgin,  and  as 
having  under  her  special  care  all  shy  and  modest  youths, 
whether  boys  or  girls,  from  whom  she  received  presents  of 
wreaths  of  flowers  in  the  springtime.  When  girls  had 
reached  an  age  at  which  her  care  was  no  longer  necessary,  it 
was  customary  for  them  to  dedicate  their  girdles  to  the  god¬ 
dess.  Young  girls  were  sometimes  called  bears/’  in  allu¬ 
sion  to  their  patron  goddess,  and  her  symbol  of  a  bear.  She 
was  worshipped  in  Athens,  Corinth,  and  Thebes  as  goddess 
of  strict  upbringing,  of  good  fame,  of  upright  mind,  and  of 
sensibility  in  the  affairs  of  ordinary  life.  She  chased  and 
fired  her  arrows  at  all  wild  and  unchecked  creatures  and 
actions. 

When  only  a  maiden  of  tender  age  she  resolved,  and 
obtained  Zeus’  consent,  to  remain  always  in  a  single  state, 
and,  like  Athene,  continued  constant  and  true  to  her  resolve, 
punishing  with  great  severity  every  offence  against  this  prin¬ 
ciple  on  the  part  of  the  nymphs  who  accompanied  her,  as  we 
see  in  the  examples  of  Daphne,  whom  she  transformed  into 
a  laurel  tree,  and  Callisto  into  a  bear. 

It  may  have  been  from  the  same  motive  which  assigned 
the  bear  as  a  symbol,  that  in  early  times  her  worship  was 
attended  with  human  sacrifice.  Of  this  kind  was  the  wor¬ 
ship  of  the  Tauric  Artemis,  at  first  peculiar  to  the  countries 
on  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  the  Crimea  being  the  prin¬ 
cipal  centre  of  it.  From  the  Crimea,  it  is  said,  Orestes 
brought  an  image  of  the  goddess,  and  transplanted  her  wor¬ 
ship  to  Greece,  where  it  took  root,  among  other  places,  at 
Sparta.  There  she  was  styled  Orthia  or  Orthosia.  The 
sacrifices  of  human  beings  were,  however,  in  later  times. 


ARTEMIS,  OR  DIANA;  AND  SELENE,  OR  LUNA.  123 


commuted  for  the  well-knowu  ceremony  of  flogging-  youths 
at  her  altar,  said  to  have  been  introduced  by  the  Spartan 
legislator  Lycurgus. 


^  As  goddess  of  marshes  she  was  styled  Limnaea,  and  as  a 
river  goddess  Potamia.  In  this  latter  capacity  she  took 
under  her  protection  the  nymphs  of  fountains,  as,  for  exam¬ 
ple,  Arethusa,  whose  beauty  had  attracted  the  river-god 
Alpheus,  and  made  her  the  object  of  his  constant  pursuit, 
fo  elude  him,  caused  the  water  of  the  spring 
which  she  represented  to  flow  under  ground.  As  Munychia, 
or  moon-goddess,  she  was  worshipped  at  the  harbor  of  Ath¬ 
ens,  and  enjoyed  an  annual  festival,  at  wliich  cakes  of  the 
shape  of  a  full  moon,  with  lights  stuck  in  them,  were  pre¬ 
sented  to  her.  As  Brauronia,  with  the  symbol  of  a  bear, 

she  had  a  sanctuary  on  the  Acropolis  of  Athens.  In  Euboea 
she  was  styled  Ama- 
rynthia,  and  was  wor¬ 
shipped  with  great 
ceremony. 

Selene,  or  Luna,  it 
has  already  been  said, 
stood  as  goddess  of  the 
moon,  in  the  same  re¬ 
lation  to  Artemis  as 
did  Helios  to  Phoebus 
Apollo,  inasmuch  as 
she  merely  represented 
the  orb  of  the  moon, 
while  Artemis  repre¬ 
sented  the  influence 
exercised  on  nature  by 
night,  the  symbol  of 
which  was  the  moon,  as  the  sun  was  symbol  of  day.  Ac¬ 
cordingly,  as  compared  with  Helios,  the  rising  star  of  day, 
Selene  represents  evening  and  night,  carrying  a  torch,  and 
clad  in  long,  heavy  robes,  with  a  veil  covering  the  back  of 


Diana  and  Endymion. 


124 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


her  head.  Oq  her  brow  she  wears  a  half-moon  (less  fre¬ 
quently  horns),  and  leans  forward,  as  if  moving  with  speed, 
in  a  chariot  drawn  by  two  horses;  or  she  rides  on  a  mule. 
The  story  of  her  love  for  the  beautiful  young  Endymion, 
whom  she  found  asleep  on  a  hillside,  and,  enamoured  of 
his  loveliness,  descended  to  him,  is  the  best  known  of  the 
myths  concerning  her,  and  may  be  taken  as  a  symbolical 
representation  of  the  gentle  influence  of  the  goddess  of  night, 
who  watches  the  slumbers  of  unconscious  creatures.  Among 
the  Romans  Luna  had  a  handsome  temple,  founded  by 
King  Servius  Tullius,  on  the  Aventine  hill,  another  on  the 
Capitol,  and  a  third  on  the  Palatine. 


Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus. 

Compared  with  the  Artemis  whom  we  have  up  to  now 
been  describing,  the  so-called  Ephesian  Artemis,  or  Diana 
of  Ephesus,  presents  so  very  different  and  strange  an  aspect, 
that  at  first  sight  we  are  completely  at  a  loss  to  understand 
how  by  any  possibility  the  term  of  a  virgin  could  be  applied 
to  her.  Her  appearance  altogether  wants  the  simplicity, 
humanity,  aud  truth  to  nature  which  characterized  the  Greek 
deities,  and,  what  is  more,  bears  the  most  obvious  signs  of 
maternity.  It  would  seem  that  the  Greeks,  who  settled  as 
colonists  in  very  early  times  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor, 


ARTEMIS,  OR  DIANA;  AND  SELENE,  OR  LUNA,  125 


found  this  goddess  being  worshipped  by  the  native  popula¬ 
tion  of  that  land^  and  adopted  her  in  the  place  of  Artemis, 


If  wax 


126 


BETTIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


Cl 

II  1 

III 
fl  I 
f  I 
H  i 

i\ 


who,  leaving  out  the  fact  of  her  being  a  virgin,  was  prob¬ 
ably  identical  with  the  Asiatic  goddess  in  respect  to  her 
divine  power  over  fertility,  childbirth,  the  moon,  and  hunting. 

The  worship  of  Diana  of 
Ephesus  extended  through¬ 
out  the  part  of  Asia  Minor 
colonized  by  Greeks,  and 
thence  spread  to  other 
places — never,  however,  ob¬ 
taining  a  firm  footing  in 
Greece  proper.  At  Ephesus 
she  had  a  temple,  which, 
for  the  grandeur  of  its  archi¬ 
tecture,  its  size,  splendor, 
and  wealth,  was  reckoned 
one  of  the  seven  wonders 
of  the  ancient  world.  On 
the  night  on  which  Alex¬ 
ander  tlie  Great  was  born 
it  was  set  fire  to  and  almost 
completely  destroyed  by  a 
man  named  Herostratus, 
whose  object,  being  simply 
to  hand  down  his  name  in 
history,  was  gained.  After¬ 
ward,  when  Alexander  had 
acquired  renown  by  his 
extraordinary  conquests  in 
Asia,  this  coincidence  was 
remarked,  and  accepted  as 
having  been  an  omen  of  his 
future  fame.  Whether  he  himself  believed  so  or  not,  he 
gladly  assisted  in  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  so  that  when 
finished  it  was  more  magnificent  than  before.  Diana  was 
still  being  worshipped  zealously  when  the  Apostle  Paul  went 
to  Ephesus  to  preach  Christianity,  and  accordingly  he  was 


The  Asiatic  Artemis. 


ARTEMIS,  OR  DIANA;  AND  SELENE,  OR  LUNA.  ]  27 

received  with  hostility,  especially  by  the  silversmiths  and 
goldsmiths,  whose  trade  consisted  largely  in  the  production 
of  small  shrines  or  representations  of  the  front  of  the  temple 
of  Diana,  to  be  sold  among  her  worshippers  and  devotees. 
Feeling  that  the  success  of  PauFs  preaching  would  ruin  their 
trade,  they  raised  so  great  an  opposition  to  him  and  his  fol¬ 
lowers  that  they  were  obliged  to  leave  the  town.  Neverthe¬ 
less  the  new  religion  found  converts,  who  from  that  time 
forward  formed  a  Christian  community  there.  This  Artemis 
was  also  worshipped  under  the  title  of  Leucophryna  in 
Asia  Minor,  and  as  such  had  a  splendid  temple  at  Mag¬ 
nesia  on  the  Maeander. 

Among  the  Romans  the  worship  of  Diana  appears  to  have 
been  of  native  growth,  and  not,  as  was  the  case  with  that  of 
many  of  the  other  deities,  imported  from  Greece.  A  temple 
had  been  erected  to  her  in  Rome  on  the  Aventine  hill  as  early 
as  the  time  of  King  Servius  Tullius.  Her  sacrifices  con¬ 
sisted  of  oxen  and  deer;  and  these,  as  well  as  the  fruit  pre¬ 
sented  to  her,  had  to  be  perfectly  clean  and  faultless,  as 
became  offerings  to  a  virgin  goddess.  Stags,  dogs,  and  the 
first-fruits  of  the  fields  were  sacred  to  her. 

^  In  works  of  art  Artemis  was  usually  represented  as  a  huntress, 
either  in  the  act  of  running  with  speed  in  pursuit  of  her  game,  or 
resting,  and  presenting  the  picture  of  a  young  virgin,  fleet  of  foot, 
her  dress  girt  high,  and  unencumbered  except  by  bow  and  arrows. 
In  type  of  face  she  resembles  her  brother  Apollo  so  closely  that,  from 
the  face  alone,  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  distinguish  them.  Her 
hair,  like  his,  is  gathered  into  a  large  knot  above  the  forehead.  The 
most  celebrated  of  the  statues  of  her  that  have  come  down  to  us  is 
the  so-called  Diana  of  Versailles.  In  early  works  of  art,  and  in  some 
of  the  later — as,  for  example,  a  marble  statue  in  the  British  Museum 
—her  drapery  reaches  to  her  feet,  but  in  these  cases  also  she  is  repre¬ 
sented  as  in  active  movement,  like  the  moon  hastening  through  the 
clouds.  Of  the  incidents  in  which  she  figured  we  find  that  of  Actaeon 
being  transformed  into  a  stag  and  devoured  by  his  hounds,  in  a  sculp¬ 
tured  group,  on  a  painted  vase,  and  on  the  fragment  of  a  cameo  in 
the  British  Museum.  The  hunt  of  the  Calydonian  boar  occurs  on 
painted  vases. 

The  Ephesian  Artemis  was  represented  with  a  mural  crown  on  her 


128 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


head.  Behind  the  crown  is  a  disc,  as  symbol  of  the  full  moon ;  on 
her  breast,  like  a  necklace,  a  garland  of  flowers,  as  a  sign  of  her  influ¬ 
ence  in  springtime,  while  above  it  are  figures  of  maidens,  to  indi¬ 
cate  her  patronage  of  young  girls  ;  lions  cling  to  her  arms  ;  as  mother 
of  wild  beasts,  she  has  many  breasts ;  her  legs  are  closely  bandaged 
and  ornamented  with  figures  of  bulls,  stags,  lions,  and  gryphons ;  at 
the  sides  are  flowers  and  bees.  How  far  this  figure  may  have  resem¬ 
bled  the  original  image  of  the  goddess  which  had  fallen  from  heaven, 
it  is  impossible  to  say. 

Selene  or  Luna  is  represented  as  riding  on  a  mule  or  a  horse ;  on 
the  pediment  of  the  Parthenon  it  is  a  horse.  On  a  painted  vase  in 
the  British  Museum  there  occurs  a  representation  of  sunrise ;  Helios 
is  seen  rising  in  his  chariot,  the  stars,  in  the  form  of  youths,  dive 
headlong  into  the  sea,  and  the  moon  (Selene)  rides  away  over  the 
hilltops  on  a  horse,  and  as  she  departs  is  bayed  at  by  a  dog. 

DIONYSUS,  OE  BACCHUS, 

Having  more  titles  than  any  of  the  other  deities,  was  styled, 
to  increase  their  number,  God  of  the  many  names, of 
these  the  most  familiar  being  Bromius,  Lyaeus,  Dithy- 
rambus,  and  Bacchus.  The  belief  in  the  existence  and 
powers  of  this  god  appears  to  have  been  borrowed  by  the 
Greeks  in  its  primitive  form  from  oriental  mythology,  to  have 
been  developed  by  them,  and  in  later  times  communicated 
to  the  Romans.  His  original  signification  was  that  of  a 
divine  being  whose  power  might  be  noticed  operating  in  the 
sap  of  vegetation;  and,  accordingly,  spring  was  a  season  of 
gladness  and  joy  for  him,  and  winter  a  season  of  sorrow. 
From  this  sprung  his  double  character  of  god  of  the  vintage 
and  its  gay  accompaniments,  and  god  of  the  ecstatic  and 
mystic  ceremonies  in  which  his  sufferings  during  winter  were 
deplored.  As  time  went  on  he  came  to  be  viewed  chiefly  as 
the  source  of  the  happiness  and  mirth  which  arise  from  the 
enjoyment  of  the  noble  fruit  of  the  vine;  while  afterward, 
from  the  fact  that  his  festivals  in  spring  and  summer,  with 
their  gaiety  and  mirth,  gave  occasion  to  the  first  attempts  at 
dramatic  performances,  he  added  the  function  of  god  of  the 
theatre  to  that  of  god  of  the  vine. 


DIONYSUS,  OR  BACCHUS. 


Fo  was  born,  it  was  commonly  believed,  at  Thebes,  and 
was  a  son  of  Zeus  and  Semele,  a  daughter  of  Cadmus,  tin: 


Bacchus. 

founder  of  that  town,  a  son  of  Ag-enor,  and  grandson  of 
Poseidon.  Of  his  birth  poets  relate  how  Hera,  indignant 


.1  f*’ 

.A 

jLte 

•rr.EjS 

|(r 

!#• 

fl 

CM? 


iP 


3 


itws  * 


130 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


at  this  rival  in  her  husband’s  affections,  determined  to  get 
rid  of  her;  and  to  this  end,  assuming  a  disguise,  went  to 
Thebes,  and  presented  herself  to  Semele;  how  she  succeeded 
in  winning  her  confidence,  and  thereupon  took  occasion  to 
propose  that  she  should  ask  Zeus  to  visit  her  for  once  in  all 
the  plenitude  of  his  majesty  as  a  god  of  thunder,  how  Zeus, 
who,  without  waiting  to  listen,  had  hastily  sworn,  by  the 
black  waters  of  the  Styx,’  ’  to  grant  whatever  she  should  ask, 
was  vexed  when  he  heard  the  foolish  request,  from  granting 
which  no  power  could  absolve  him;  how  one  day  he  appeared 
before  the  luckless  Semele  with  a  display  of  thunder  and 
lightning  which  caused  her  death.  So  far  the  desire  of  ven¬ 
geance  on  the  part  of  Hera  was  satisfied.  But  Semele,  at 
the  moment  of  her  death,  gave  birth  to  a  male  child,  whose 
life  Zeus  fortunately  restored.  That  was  the  child  Bacchus. 
To  prevent  its  suffering  at  the  hands  of  Hera,  Hermes,  the 
messenger  of  the  gods,  was  secretly  dispatched  with  the 
infant  to  a  place  called  I^ysa,  where  were  certain  nymphs, 
to  whom,  along  with  Silenus,  the  charge  of  bringing  up  the 
child  was  entrusted.  His  title  of  Dithyrambus,  it  is  said, 
means  twice  born,”  and  refers  to  the  incident  of  his  life 
being  restored  by  Zeus.  In  after  times  it  was  applied  to  a 
species  of  song  in  honor  of  the  god  of  wine,  of  which  Arion 
of  Methymna  was  the  reputed  originator. 

The  childhood  of  Dionysus  was  spent  in  innocence  and 
happiness  among  the  nymphs,  satyrs,  sileni,  herdsmen,  and 
vine-tenders  of  Nysa.  But  when  he  arrived  at  manhood  he 
set  out  on  a  journey  through  all  known  countries,  even  into 
the  remotest  parts  of  India,  instructing  the  people,  as  he 
proceeded,  how  to  tend  the  vine,  and  how  to  practise  many 
other  arts  of  peace,  besides  teaching  them  the  value  of  just 
and  honorable  dealings.  He  was  praised  everywhere  as  the 
greatest  benefactor  of  mankind.  At  the  same  time,  it  is 
said,  apparently  with  reference  to  the  fierce  and  stubborn 
mood  which  in  some  cases  follows  copious  indulgence  in 
wine,  that  he  met  occasionally  with  great  resistance  on  his 


DIONYSUS,  OB  BACCHUS. 


131 


journey,  but  always  overcame  it  and  punished  those  who 
opposed  him  most  severely.  As  an  instance  of  this,  we  will 
take  Lycurg-us,  the  king  of  Thrace,  whom,  for  his  resistance, 
Dionysus  drove  mad,  and  caused  to  fell  his  son,  mistaking 
him  for  a  vine-plant,  and  afterward  to  kill  himself  in  despair. 
Or,  again,  Pentheus,  a  king  of  Thebes,  whom  he  caused  to  be 
Torn  to  pieces  by  his  own  mother  and  her  following  of  women, 
because  he  had  dared  to  look  on  at  their  orgiastic  rites. 

Nowhere  was  the  knowledge  of  how  to  utilize  the  vine 
appreciated  more  than  in  Attica,  where  the  god  had  commu¬ 
nicated  it  to  Icarus,  whose  first  attempt  to  extend  the  benefit 
of  it  to  others  brought  about  his  own  death,  an  event  which 
was  deeply  grievmd  for  afterward.  In  December  a  festival, 
with  all  manner  of  rustic  enjoyments,  was  held  in  honor  of 
Dionysus  in  the  country  round  Athens.  In  January  a  fes¬ 
tival  called  Lenaea  was  held  in  his  honor  in  the  town,  at 
Avhich  one  of  the  principal  features  was  a  nocturnal  and 
orgiastic  procession  of  women.  Then  followed  in  February 
the  Anthesteria,  the  first  day  of  which  was  called  cask¬ 
opening  day,^^  and  the  second  pouring  day.^^  Lastly  came 
the  great  festival  of  the  year,  the  Great  Dionysia,  which 
was  held  in  the  town  of  Athens,  and  lasted  from  the  ninth 
to  the  fifteenth  of  March,  the  religious  part  of  the  ceremony 
consisting  of  a  procession  in  which  an  ancient  wooden  image 
of  the  god  was  carried  through  the  streets  from  one  sanctuary 
to^  another,  accompanied  by  excited  songs.  The  tlieatre  of 
Dionysus  was  daily  the  scene  of  splendid  dramatic  perform¬ 
ances,  and  the  whole  town  was  astir  and  gay. 

His  worship  extended  to  Lemnos,  Thasos,  and  Naxos, 
where  the  story  was  told  of  his  turning  the  Tyrrhenian 
pirates  into  dolphins,  and  where  he  found  the  beautiful  Ari¬ 
adne,  when  she  had  been  abandoned  by  Theseus.  It  spread 
to  Crete,  the  home  of  Ariadne,  and  into  Asia  Minor.  In 
Phrygia  he  was  worshipped  witli  wild  ceremonies,  called 
Sabazia,  and  in  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  called  Cotyttia. 
As  the  god  who  had  advanced  through  Asia  Minor  and  on  to 

Murray — ii 


132 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


ludia^  accompanied  by  his  wild  and  clamorous  following,  he 
was  styled  the  Indian  Dionysus,  and  in  this  character  was 
represented  as  advanced  in  years. 

The  sufferings  which  the  god  was  supposed  to  endure  in 
winter  led  him  to  be  associated  with  Denieter  in  the  mys¬ 
teries  of  Eleusis,  the  purpose  of  which  was,  as  has  been  said, 
to  celebrate  the  grief  of  the  goddess  in  winter,  and  her  pros¬ 
pects  of  joy  in  the  coming  spring. 

The  vine,  ivy,  and  pomegranate  were  sacred  to  this  god; 
his  sacrifices  consisted  of  goats  and  pigs. 

In  works  of  art  Dionysus  was  represented  under  a  variety  of  forms ; 
of  these,  however,  two  are  to  be  specially  noticed.  The  one  called 
the  ‘‘  Indian  Bakchos,”  represents  him  as  a  man  of  years,  with  worthy 
aspect,  a  long  beard,  a  diadem  on  his  brow,  and  long  drapery  sweep¬ 
ing  to  his  feet.  In  another  figure  he  is  represented  as  a  beautiful 
youth  with  an  almost  feminine  appearance,  beardless,  his  hair  falling 
in  long  tresses,  and  adorned  with  a  wreath  of  ivy  or  vine  tendrils, 
sometimes  wearing  the  skin  of  a  stag  over  his  shoulders,  or  with 
small  horns  on  his  brow,  and  often  in  a  car  drawn  by  panthers  or 
lions,  or  riding  on  one  of  these  beasts. 

At  other  times  he  appears  as  a  child,  and  that  sometimes  when  he 
is  being  handed  over  by  Hermes  to  the  care  of  Silenus  and  tin" 
nymphs  of  Nysa.  The  youthful  Dionysus  is  frequently  represented 
in  the  company  of  Ariadne,  while  the  elder  Dionysus  is  usually 
accompanied  by  Sileni  and  Satyrs,  as  when  he  visited  Icarus  and 
taught  him  the  use  of  the  vine,  a  scene  which  occurs  on  several 
ancient  reliefs,  of  which  two  are  in  the  British  Museum.  On  his 
journey  to  India  he  rides  on  a  camel,  and  on  other  occasions  he  is 
attended  by  panthers.  His  staff  is  a  thyrsus — a  rod  with  a  pine  cone 
at  the  top.  In  his  hand  is  often  a  drinking-cup.  The  movement 
and  excitement  of  the  persons  who  were  associated  with  Dionysus 
was  a  great  attraction  to  Praxiteles  and  the  sculptors  of  his  time,  and 
it  is  probable  that  the  many  sculptures  of  Dionysiac  subjects  which 
we  now  possess  come  from  that  school  either  as  originals  or  direct 
imitations. 


HERMES,  OR  MERCURY, 

A  son  of  Zeus  and  Maia,  a  daughter  of  Atlas,  was  regarded 
In  the  first  instance  as  the  special  deity  to  whom  was  due  the 
prolificness  and  welfare  of  the  animal  kingdom.  In  conse- 


HERMES,  OR  MERCURY. 


133 


!  queuce,  however,  of  the  fact  that  in  early  times  the  chief 
I  source  of  wealth  consisted  in  herds  of  cattle,  the  prolificness 
of  which  was  traced  to  him,  it  came  to  pass  in  time  that  he 
'  was  considered  generally  to  be  the  first  cause  of  all  wealth, 

(  come  whence  it  might.  But 
!  as  civilization  advanced^  and 
i  it  became  known  by  experi- 
i  ence  that  there  was  no 
I  means  of  acquiring  wealth  so 
i  rapidly  as  by  trade,  his  prov- 
i  ince  was  extended  to  trade 
1  and  the  protection  of  traders. 

,  Again,  since  the  main  condi- 
i  tion  of  prosperity  in  trade 
i  Avas  peace  and  undisturbed 
commerce  by  land  and  sea, 

;  he  came  to  be  viewed  as 
1  guardian  of  commerce.  And, 

'  further,  assuming  that  all 
I  who  took  part  in  trade  were 
I  qualified  to  look  after  their 
own  interests,  shrewd  and 
I  prudent,  the  function  of  protecting  prudence,  shrewdness, 

,  and  even  cunning,  was  assigned  to  him.  In  certain  aspects 
I  of  trade,  if  not  in  the  best,  it  was  reckoned  a  great  point  to 
I  talk  over  and  cajole  purchasers,  and  from  his  protection  of 
I  this  method  of  doing  business,  Hermes  came  to  be  god  of 

persuasive  speech or  oratory.  Finally,  it  being  only  a 
I  short  step  from  this  to  cunning  and  roguery,  we  must  not 
be  surprised  to  find  him  described  as  protector  of  thieves 
and  rascals,  though  no  doubt  this  task  was  assigned  him 
more  in  joke  than  in  earnest. 

His  office  of  messenger  and  herald  of  the  gods,  in  partic¬ 
ular  of  Zeus,  appears  to  have  originated  partly  in  the  duty 
assigned  to  him  of  protecting  commerce,  the  success  of  Avhich 
'depends  largely  on  the  messengers  and  envoys  employed  in 


I  )>*•* 

'Ifg 


1 1»  fliiMJI* 

i¥  iiM 

.Ml* 

« 


-K  .I** 


134 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


it,  and  partly  in  other  functions  of  his  which  would  lead  us 
too  far  to  explain.  As  messenger  and  envoy  of  Zeus,  1 
Hermes  conducts  the  intercourse  between  heaven  and  earth,  ^ 
announcing  the  will  of  the  gods  to  men,  and  from  this  office 
was  further  derived  his  character  of  a  god  of  oracles.  In  ^ 
the  capacity  of  messenger  or  herald  he  had  access  even  to  the  J 
under-world,  whither,  under  the  title  of  Psychopompos, 
he  guided  the  souls  of  the  departed,  crossing  in  Charon’s  « 
bark,  and  placing  them  before  the  throne  of  the  deities  || 
below.  From  the  shadowy  world  of  spirits  to  that  of  sleep  J 
and  dreams  is  a  short  step  for  the  imagination,  and  accord-  ■j 
ingly  we  find  Hermes  described  as  Oneiropompos,  guide  of  ^ 
dreams.  As  the  swift  messenger  of  the  gods  he  readily  came  ^ 
to  be  looked  on  as  a  model  for  the  youth  practising  in  the 
palaestra,  in  which  capacity  he  had  the  title  of  Enagonios, 

In  proportion  to  the  variety  of  tasks  which  he  had  to  per-  S 
form  was  the  variety  of  mythical  stories  about  his  actions  m 
and  life,  some  of  them  taking  us  back  to  the  very  day  of  » 
his  birth.  For  it  was  not  an  uncommon  practice  in  the  early 
myth-making  age  to  ascribe  to  the  infancy  of  a  god  some  -  J 
instance  of  the  peculiar  qualities  by  which  he  was  afterward  ■ 
distinguished.  So  it  happened  with  Hermes.  K 

His  birth  having  taken  place  on  the  fourth  of  the  month,  ij 
that  day  became  sacred  to  him.  Born,  as  it  was  believed,'® 
during  the  darkness  of  night,  in  an  unfrequented,  lonesome  B 
cave  on  Mount  Cyllene,  in  Arcadia,  and  on  this  account  jt 
styled  Cyllenius,  he  was  only  a  day  old  when  a  remarkable* 
example  of  his  cunning  and  knavery  occurred.  Slipping  out*' 
of  the  couch  in  the  cave  where  he  was  left  asleep  as  was  sup- 
})osed,  the  night  being  dark  and  cloudy,  he  found  a  herd  of  *1 
cattle  belonging  to  his  brother  Apollo  (as  sun-god),  and  stole  m 
a  number  of  them.  When  the  morning  came  Apollo  searched 
in  vain  for  the  missing  cattle;  for  the  infant  god  had  cleverly  ' 
succeeded  in  obliterating  all  traces  of  them  by  fastening 
bunches  of  broom  to  their  hoofs,  and  in  this  condition  driv-  ‘ 
ing  them  backward  into  a  cave  at  Pylos,  so  as  to  produce  the  '.i;  f 


HERMES,  OR  MERCURY. 


135 


impression  that  they  had  left  instead  of  entered  the  eave. 
After  this  adventure  he  slunk  back  to  his  couch,  and  feigned 
to  be  asleep.  He  had,  however,  been  observed  by  a  rustic 
named  Battus,  who  informed  against  him,  whereupon  Apollo, 
angry  at  such  a  daring  piece  of  robbery,  dragged  him  out 
of  his  couch,  and  took  him  off  to  the  throne  of  Zeus  to  be 
punished  and  made  an  example  of.  But  Hermes  was  irre¬ 
pressible,  took  up  a  lyre  which  he  had  made  the  day  before 
out  of  the  shell  of  a  tortoise,  and  proceeded  to  play  on  it,  to 


Mercury  Before  Pluto  and  Proserpina. 


the  amusement  and  delight  of  both  Zeus  and  Apollo,  and 
further  ingratiated  himself  with  his  brother  by  giving  him 
the  lyre,  inventing  for  his  own  use  a  shepherd^  s  pipe.  The 
cattle  of  the  sun-god  were  the  clouds,  and  Hermes  was  a 
god  who  presided  over  the  fertility  of  nature.  The  signifi¬ 
cation  of  the  story  of  his  stealing  some  of  these  cattle  on  a 
dark  night  would,  therefore,  seem  to  be  simply  that  of  clouds 
discharging  fertilizing  showers  by  night. 

The  two  brothers,  having  thus  made  their  peace,  continued 
from  that  time  forward  on  the  best  of  terms,  Apollo  attesting 
his  good  disposition  toward  Hermes  by  giving  him  in  return 


af  Ail 


136 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER, 

for  the  lyre  a  present  of  a  golden  divining-rod,  and  also  the 
power  of  prophecy.  This  condition,  however,  was  attached 
to  the  gift,  that  he  was  not  to  communicate  his  revelations  of 
the  future  by  words  as  did  Apollo,  but  by  signs  and  occur¬ 
rences.  That  is  to  say,  that  persons  revolving  some  under¬ 
taking  in  their  mind  were  to  be  guided  by  certain  unexpected 
sights,  accidents,  or  incidents,  and  were  to  recognize  in  them 
the  favor  or  displeasure  of  the  gods,  with  reference  to  the 
enterprise  in  question — a  method  of  proceeding  common 
enough  in  modern  superstition.  These  signs  and  incidents 
were  believed  to  be  sent  by  Hermes,  whose  counsel  in  other 
cases  of  dbubt,  as  to  whether  to  do  or  not  do  a  thing,  was 
sought  for  by  recourse  to  dice,  the  belief  being  that  a  high 
throw  signified  his  approval,  and  a  low  throw  the  reverse. 

The  cunning  and  adroitness,  the  same  good  humor  and 
ready  answer  which  he  gave  proof  of  in  the  first  days  of  his 
infancy,  were  often  afterward  and  with  like  success  displayed 
by  him — as,  for  example,  when  he  stole  the  sceptre  of  Zeus, 
Aphrodite’s  girdle,  Poseidon’s  trident,  the  sword  of  Ares, 
the  tongs  of  Hephaestus,  or  Apollo’s  bow  and  arrows,  in 
each  case  managing  to  make  up  matters,  and  smooth  away 
the  indignation  of  his  victims.  But  the  most  celebrated 
instance  in  which  his  brilliant  talents  were  fully  displayed, 
was  the  affair  of  Argus  with  the  hundred  eyes,  whom  Hera 
had  appointed  to  watch  over  lo,  one  of  the  favorites  of  Zeus, 
whom  the  latter,  that  she  might  escape  the  vengeance  of  the 
jealous  Hera,  had  transformed  into  a  cow,  a  trick  which  the 
goddess  had  perceived. 

Well,  Hermes  being  commanded  by  Zeus  to  release  lo 
from  the  surveillance  of  Argus,  and  in  doing  so  to  use  no 
force,  found  the  task  no  easy  matter,  seeing  that  the  watch¬ 
man  had  a  hundred  eyes,  of  which,  when  in  his  deepest  sleep, 
only  fifty  were  closed.  Hermes  succeeded,  however,  and  in 
this  fashion.  Presenting  himself  to  Argus,  he  commenced 
to  amuse  him  by  telling  all  kinds  of  tales,  and  having  by 
these  means  fairly  gained  the  watchman’s  confidence,  he  next 


HERMES,  OR  MERCURY, 


137 


Argus. 


produced  a  shepherd’s  pipe,  and  played  on  it  various  tunes 
of  such  sweetness  that  they  gradually  lulled  Argus  into  so 
deep  a  sleep  that  one  by  one  all 
his  hundred  eyes  closed.  The 
moment  the  last  eyelid  drooped 
Hermes  slew  him,  and  at  once 
released  lo,  and  led  her  away. 

For  this  service  he  rose  high  in 
the  estimation  of  Zeus,  and  from 
that  time  the  name  of  ^^Argus- 
slayer,”  Arg'iphontes,  was  the 
proudest  title  which  he  bore. 

Asa  memorial  of  Argus,  Hera, 
it  was  said,  set  his  eyes  in  the 
tail  of  her  favorite  bird,  the 
peacock.  But  these  and  such-like  instances  of  his  knavery 
and  cunning  do  not  by  any  means  express  the  whole  character 
of  Hermes  ;  for  his  skill  was  also  directed  frequently  to  pur¬ 
poses  of  useful  invention.  It  was  he,  for  example,  who  in¬ 
vented  Apollo’s  lyre,  as  well  as  that  one  by  which  the 
Theban  musician,  Amphion,  did  such  wonders;  and  it  was 
he  who  taught  Palamedes  to  express  words  in  writing. 
And,  besides,  wherever  danger  that  required  skill  and  dex¬ 
terity  as  much  as  courage  presented  itself,  he  was  always 
present  to  assist.  He  acted  as  a  guide  to  heroes  in  their 
dangerous  enterprises,  and  in  that  capacity  frequently,  as  in 
the  case  of  Hercules,  was  associated  with  Athene.  To 
travellers  who  had  lost  their  way  he  was  a  ready  guide,  and 
to  exiles  a  constant  and  willing  helper  in  strange  lands  and 
among  ill-disposed  people. 

In  the  primitive  form  of  his  worship  Hermes  was,  as  has 
been  said,  the  god  who  gives  prolificness  to  flocks  and  herds. 
In  this  character  we  find  him  in  what  appears  to  have  been 
the  oldest  centre  of  his  worship  in  Greece — that  is,  in  Samo- 
thrace  and  the  neighboring  islands  of  Imbros  and  Lemnos, 
where  he  bore  the  title  of  Cadmilus  or  Casmilus.  His 


trc 

t, 


*  tf-tf 

I  , 

hi:  i0f 

«>■<(«  Ik  M 


II 

'^4. 


3 


SIfttI 


138 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER. 


usual  title  among  herdsmen  was  either  Nomius  or  Bpi- 
melius. 

A  messenger  himself,  it  became  his  office  to  aid  human 
messengers  and  travellers,  and  to  this  end  it  was  he  who 
inspired  the  idea  of  erecting  sign-posts  at  cross-roads  with 
directions  as  to  whither  each  road  led.  These  sign-posts  took 
the  form  of  statues,  if  they  may  be  so  called,  consisting  of 
a  pillar  running  narrower  toward  the  foot,  and  surmounted 


by  a  head  of  Hermes,  and  called  Hermae.  It  was  the  duty 
of  travellers  on  passing  one  of  them  to  place  a  stone  beside 
it,  a  custom  which  not  only  largely  helped  toward  clearing 
the  fields  of  stones,  but  also  led  to  improvement  in  the  roads 
themselves,  and  hence  to  increased  facilities  for  commerce. 
If  more  than  two  roads  crossed,  a  corresponding  number  of 
heads  were  placed  on  the  pillar,  one  facing  each  way.  Sim¬ 
ilar  figures  were  also  found  outside  houses  in  Athens  for  the 
purpose  of  cheering  parting  travellers. 


lo  and  Zeus. 


HERMES,  OB  MERCURY. 


139 


Hermes,  or  Mercury. 


The  attributes  of  Hermes  were  the  cadueeus  or  keryceum — 
that  is,  a  short  staff  with  a  pair  of  wings  and  a  knotted  snake 
attached  to  it,  and  the  petasus  or  winged  cap.  Beside  him 


sometimes  is  a  cock  or  a  goat.  For  sacrifice  he  delighted  in 
the  tongues  of  animals,  a  suitable  sacrifice  to  the  god  of 
oratory. 

The  Roman  Mercurius  appears  to  have  possessed  in  com¬ 
mon  with  Hermes  only  the  character  of  god  of  trade  and 
oratory.  Roman  traders  held  a  festival  to  him  on  May  25. 


140 


DEITIES  OF  THE  HIGHEST  ORDER, 


In  the  earlier  works  of  art  Hermes  appears  bearded  and  about 
middle  age,  frequently  carrying  a  sheep  or  a  kid  over  bis  shoulders. 
His  form  is  athletic.  In  more  recent  works  we  find  him  of  a  youth¬ 
ful  figure,  such  as  became  his  office  as  messenger  of  the  gods.  He 
wears  \hQ  petasus,  and  sometimes  wings  at  his  heels,  carries  the  cadu- 
ceus,  and  sometimes,  as  a  god  of  trade,  a  purse.  Among  the  incidents 
of  his  life,  one  which  occurs  frequently  on  the  painted  vases  is  that 
in  which  he  appears  presenting  the  three  goddesses  to  Paris,  who  had 
to  decide  their  claims  as  to  which  of  them  was  the  most  beautiful. 
Sometimes  he  is  represented  in  sculptures  as  a  mere  boy.  Many  of 
the  Hermae  described  above  have  come  down  to  our  times. 

THEMIS, 

A  daughter*  of  Uranus  and  Gaea,  was  the  personification  of 
that  divine  law  of  right  which  ought  to  control  all  human 
affairs,  of  that  highest  and  noblest  sense  of  right  which  is 
subject  to  no  human  influences.  In  this  capacity  she  came 
to  be  viewed  also  as  goddess  of  the  rites  of  hospitality.  She 
was  a  personification  of  divine  will  as  it  bore  upon  the  affairs 
of  the  world,  and  accordingly  the  Delphic  oracle  had  been 
under  her  control  before  it  was  yielded  to  Apollo,  to  whom, 
as  her  successor,  she  communicated  the  prophetic  art.  A  long 
time  passed  before  Zeus  could  persuade  her  to  become  his 
wife — his  first  wife,  as  some  myths  have  it;  his  second, 
according  to  others,  which  say  that  Metis  was  his  first.  To 
him  she  bore  the  Horae,  Moerae  or  Parcae,  and  Astraea, 
the  goddess  of  justice,  of  whom  we  have  already  told  how 
she  forsook  the  earth  during  the  Bronze  Age.  The  proper 
home  of  Themis  was  Olympus,  and  hence  she  was  styled 
Urania.  But  during  the  war  with  the  Titans  she  descended 
to  earth,  and  there,  throughout  the  Golden  Age,  taught  man¬ 
kind  the  exercises  of  right  and  moderation.  When,  after¬ 
ward,  the  human  race  sank  into  degradation,  she  returned 
again  to  Olympus. 

In  consequence  of  the  profound  wisdom  and  open  truth¬ 
fulness  which  formed  the  essential  features  of  the  character 


THEMIS. 


141 


of  Themis,  even  the  supreme  gods  consulted  and  acted  on  her 
advice;  as,  for  example,  did  Zeus,  when  he  declined  to  marry 
Thetis,  because  of  the  prediction  of 
Themis,  that  a  son  would  be  the 
issue  of  the  marriage,  who  would 
excel  even  his  father  in  might.  We 
shall  afterward  have  to  relate  how 
Thetis  was  given  in  marriage  to 
Peleus,  a  mortal,  in  order  that  her 
son  might  not  be  a  source  of  danger 
to  the  gods.  The  worship  of  Themis 
extended  to  many  districts  of  Greece, 
where  temples,  altars,  and  statues 
were  raised  in  her  honor.  The  prin¬ 
cipal  centres  of  it,  however,  were 
Athens,  Troezen,  the  island  of 
Aegina,  Thebes,  and  Olympia. 

Ancient  artists  represented  her  as 
a  \v^oman  of  mature  age,  with  large 
open  eyes;  while  modern  artists — 
and  they  alone,  it  must  be  observed — figure  her  as  in  the 
illustration. 

She  is  further  represented  holding  a  sword  and  chain  in 
one  hand  and  a  balance  in  the  other,  to  indicate  the  severity 
and  the  accuracy  with  which  justice  is  to  be  meted  out  and 
administered. 


t.  Wa# 

I 

rw 

»  •'H 

tnSjJ 

C-l9 

.Ik  pjl 


(tit 


Cfftll 


INFERIOE  DEITIES. 


Hitherto  our  descriptions  have  been  confined  to  those 
deities  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  who,  because  their  func¬ 
tions  were  subordinate  to  no  god  but  Zeus,  were  styled  of 
the  superior  order,  or  Olympian  deities.  Hades  and  Perse¬ 
phone  being  included,  though  their  realm  was  the  under¬ 
world,  not  Olympus.  We  proceed  now  to  the  inferior  order, 
such  as  occupied  subordinate  positions  i  n  the  system  of  gods, 
but  were  nevertheless  worshipped  independently,  if  not  so 
universally  as  the  others. 
f  We  begin  with  the 

HORAE, 

.  \ 

«i  The  goddesses  of  the  seasons,’^  daughters  of  Zeus  and 
lei  Themis.  Their  number  was  variously  estimated  according 
•t  to  the  variety  of  the  divisions  of  year  into  periods — winter, 

however,  not  being  reckoned  as  one, 
because  it  was  the  season  of  sleep  and 
death  in  nature.  Thus  we  find  the 
worship  of  only  two  goddesses  of 
seasons  in  Athens,  the  one  called 
Thallo,  or  goddess  of  blossoming,’’ 
and  the  other  Carpo,  or  goddess  of 
harvest  and  fruit.”  But  elsewhere 
in  Greece  the  usual  number  was 
three,  and  as  such  they  were  repre¬ 
sented  in  works  of  art  with  the  attri¬ 
butes  of  the  seasons  :  Spring  with 
its  flowers,  Summer  with  its  grain, 
and  Autumn  with  its  grapes  and  fruit. 


«i 

t'l 


One  of  the  Horae, 


HOBAE. 


143 


Occasionally  we  find  a  fourth  season,  that  of  Winter,  rep¬ 
resented  in  the  act  of  returning  with  booty  from  the  chase: 
but,  unlike  her  sisters,  she  is  nameless.  As  deities  of  the 
kindly  seasons  which  bring  about  the  budding  and  growth  of 
nature,  they  were  directly  under  the  control  of  the  superior 
deities,  especially  of  Zeus  and  Hera,  At  times  they  are  to 
be  seen  along  with  the  Charites  (Grraces)  in  the  company  of 


Horae,  or  Hours. 


!#» 

ft 


Aphrodite,  and  sometimes  along  with  the  Muses  in  the  com¬ 


pany  of  Apollo ;  for  it  is  in  the  happy  seasons  of  the  year 
that  the  joyous  voice  of  nature  is  heard. 


In  the  capacity  of  goddesses  who  watched  over  the  bless¬ 
ings  of  the  fields,  it  became  their  duty,  further,  to  regulate 
changes  of  the  weather,  now  opening  and  now  shutting  the 
gates  of  heaven,  alternately  sending  rain  and  sunshine  as 
suited  best  the  increase  of  vegetation.  Tender  and  glad¬ 
some,  moving  in  mazy  dances,  with  crowns  of  gold  and  of 
flowers,  they  were  always  good  and  faithful  to  mankind,  and, 
though  sometimes  seeming  to  be  impatient  to  come  late, 


144 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


always  bringing  with  them  something  sweet  and  beautiful, 
never  proving  untrue  or  deceitful. 

Our  first  illustration  represents  a  Hora  dancing,  with  a 
wreath  of  palm-leaves  on  her  head.  The  dish  of  fruit  in  her 

left  hand  probably  in¬ 
dicates  that  she  is  the 
Hora  of  Autumn. 

Such  were  their  func¬ 
tions  in  nature.  In 
consequence,  hov^ever, 
of  the  great  and  plen¬ 
teous  blessings  that  were 
observed  to  flow  from 
the  unchangeable  and 
orderly  succession  of  the 
seasons,  the  Horae  were 
also  supposed  to  watch 
over  good  order  '^and 
propriety  in  human  life 
and  morality — a  task 
which  seems  to  have 
given  rise  to  the  belief 
that  they  were  daugh¬ 
ters  of  Themis.  Their 
names,  in  the  cases 
where  the  three  appear 
together,  have  been  ad¬ 
mirably  chosen  to  suit 
this  metaphorical  notion 
of  their  character  :  as, 
Eunomia  (wise  legis¬ 
lation),  Dike  (justice), 
and  Eirene  (peace). 
Eunomia’ s  services  were  mostly  directed  to  political  life,  the 
results  being  warmly  praised  by  poets,  and  her  worship  never 
neglected  by  the  State.  Dike’s  sphere  of  operations  was 


Hora,  or  Flora. 


•  Ollli 

s 

m 


Of  ||V'*'| 

n  <  «5 

*■  i  f  .9-^ 
u.i<<i  nr 

t** 

« 


imk 

*K 

.**•  "  j 

'i 

‘3 


POSEIDON,  OR  NEPTUNE. 


145  A 


VERTUMNUS. 


145 


♦ 


I  more  among  the  incidents  of  the  lives  of  individuals,  inform- 
!  mg,  it  was  said,  her  father  Zeus,  of  every  injustice  done  on 
i  earth.  Eirene,  finally,  being  the  most  cheerful  of  the  three 
>  sisters,  was  said  to  have  been  the  mother  of  Plutus — that  is, 

:  of  riches,  the  gay  companion  of  Dionysus,  and  guardian 
j  goddess  of  songs  and  festivities. 

The  goddess  of  spring  was  also  especially  worshipped  as  a 
.  Hora  under  the  title  of  Chloris,  which  corresponds  to  the 
;  Roman  Flora.  She  was  the  goddess  of  buds  and  flowers, 

0  of  whom  Boreas,  the  north  winter  wind,  and  Zephyrus,  the 
V  west  spring  wind,  were  rival  lovers.  She  chose  the  latter, 

5  and  became  his  faithful  wife. 


POMONA 


•  Was  goddess  of  garden  fruits,  and  was  represented  wearing 
i  a  wreath  composed  of  such,  or  holding  in  her  hand  a  horn  of 
]  plenty  full  of  them,  with  a  dog  by  her  side.  Her  appear-  ^ 

I  ance  was  that  of  a  virgin  in  rustic  garments.  It  was  said  ig 

i  that  she  had  been  orginally  a  Hamadryad,  but  had  yielded  S 
i  her  affections  to  Vertumnus.  Her  worship  was  confined  to 
;  the  Romans.  She  had  a  priest,  styled  flamen  pomonalis, 
ij  specially  devoted  to  her  service. 


.ii». 


VERTUMNUS, 


1  The  husband  of  Pomona,  was  worshipped  by  the  Romans 
ias  a  deity  of  the  second  order,  who  watched  over  the  seasons 


^as  well  as  the  garden  fruits,  and  was  represented  with  attri- 
'  butes  similar  to  those  of  Pomona.  In  October  an  annual 
i  festival,  resembling  a  harvest  thanksgiving,  was  held  in  his 


'honor,  the  offerings  brought  him  on  that  occasion  consisting 
*of  first-fruits  from  the  garden,  and  wreaths  of  flowers  of  all 
kinds.  Like  Pomona,  he,  too,  had  a  priest  of  his  own.  At 
times  he  was  represented,  like  Saturn,  with  a  pruning-knife 


in  his  hand,  and  a  wreath  composed  of  ears  of  corn  on  his 


Mu  7- ray — 12 


146 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


head.  Originally  he  was  worshipped  under  the  form  of  a 
rough  wooden  post,  but  had  afterward  a  beautiful  bronze 
statue  made  by  a  Roman  artist. 

JANUS 

Was  a  deity  unknown  to  the  Greeks,  but  from  the  earliest 
times  held  in  high  estimation  by  the  Romans,  who  placed 
him  on  almost  an  equal  footing  with  Jupiter,  even  giving: 
his  name  precedence  in  their  prayers,  and  invoking  the  aid 
of  both  deities  previous  to  every  undertaking.  To  him  they 
ascribed  the  origin  of  all  things,  the  introduction  of  the  system 
of  years,  the  change  of  season,  the  ups  and  downs  of  fortune, 
and  the  civilization  of  the  human  race  by  means  of  agricul¬ 
ture,  industry,  arts,  and  religion.  According  to  the  popular 
belief,  Janus  was  an  ancient  king  who  had  come  in  remote 
early  times  from  Greece  to  Latium,  there  instituted  the  wor¬ 
ship  of  the  gods  and  the  erection  of  temples,  and  himself 
deserved  high  honors  like  a  god,  for  this  reason,  that  he  had 
conferred  the  greatest  good  upon  mankind  by  his  instructions 
in  many  important  ways.  In  some  of  the  stories  he  is  con- i 
founded  with  Saturn.  In  others  it  is  said  that  Saturn,  driven 
out  of  Greece,  took  refuge  with  Janus  in  Latium,  and  shared 
the  government  wdth  him. 

It  is  easy  to  explain  the  great  honor  paid  to  Janus  by  a 
people  like  the  Romans,  who,  as  a  rule,  had  this  peculiarity 
of  pondering  well  the  prospects  of  an  undertaking  before 
entering  upon  it.  The  beginning  of  everything  was  a  matter 
of  great  importance  to  them,  and  Janus  was  the  god  of  a 

good  beginning.’’  It  is  in  this  spirit  that  the  Roman  poet, 
Ovid,  makes  Janus  say,  ‘‘  Everything  depends  on  the  begin¬ 
ning.”  Even  when  Jupiter  had  consented  to  an  enterprise, 
prosperity  in  carrying  it  out  was  believed  to  be  under  the 
control  of  Janus,  and,  accordingly,  great  stress  was  laid  on 
the  circumstances  attending  the  commencement  of  any  pro¬ 
ject.  Janus  opened  and  closed  all  things.  He  sat,  not  only 


JANUS. 


147 


( (>n  the  confines  of  the  earth,  but  also  at  the  gates  of  heaven. 
.Air,  sea,  and  land  were  in  the  hollow  of  his  hands.  The 
world  moved  on  its  hinges  at  his  command. 

In  accordance  with  this  belief,  he  was  represented  seated, 
with  two  heads,  one  being  that  of  a  youth,  to  indicate  be- 
1  ginning,’^  the  other  that 
of  an  old  man,  to  indicate 
tthe  end,^^  whence  he 
was  styled  Bifrons  (two- 
headed).  In  his  left  hand 
is  a  key,  to  show  that  he 
opens  at  the  beginning, 
and  shuts  at  the  end;  the 
sceptre  in  his  right  is  a 
sign  that  he  controls  the 
progress  of  every  under¬ 
taking. 

The  first  day  of  Jan¬ 
uary,  a  month  named  after 
him,  being  the  first  day  of 
a  new  year,  was  the  occa¬ 
sion  of  a  celebration  in 
his  honor.  At  the  beginning  of  every  month  the  priests 
offered  sacrifice  to  him  at  twelve  altars.  He  was  invoked 
overy  morning  as  the  beginner  of  a  new  day.  Even  at  the 
sacrifices  to  other  gods  he  was  remembered,  and  received 
offerings  of  wine  and  cakes,  incense,  and  other  things.  The 
ousbandman  prayed  to  him  at  the  beginning  of  seed-time. 
When  war  was  declared  he  was  invoked. 

The  public  worship  of  Janus  as  a  god  was  introduced  into 
Rome  as  early  as  the  time  of  Numa  Pompilius,  a  foundation 
or  its  establishment  having  been  previously  laid  during  the 
’eign  of  Romulus.  The  story  runs,  that,  the  Sabines  having 
nice  made  an  assault  on  the  newly  built  town  of  Rome,  a 
5pring  of  boiling  water  suddenly  appeared,  and  was  the  means 
)f  destroying  these  enemies.  On  this  spot  a  temple  was 


Janus. 


148 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


erected  in  honor  of  Janus,  the  gates  of  which  stood  open  so 
long  as  Rome  was  at  war,  and  were  closed  with  great  cere¬ 
mony  and  rejoicing  only  in  times  of  general  peace.  Rome 
was,  however,  so  continually  engaged  in  war  that,  in  the 
course  of  the  first  seven  hundred  years  after  the  foundation 
of  the  city,  the  gates  of  the  temple  were  closed  only  three 
times — in  the  reign  of  !Numa  Pompilius,  after  the  first  Punic 
war,  and  during  the  reign  of  Augustus.  Hence  the  temple 
of  Janus  with  its  gates  shut  came  to  be  a  very  emphatic  , 
symbol  of  peace. 


TERMINUS 

Was  the  god  of  boundaries,  and  had,  when  represented  in 
art,  the  figure  of  a  boundary  stone  or  pillar  surmounted  by 
a  head,  as  in  the  case  of  the  figures  of  Hermes  by  the  way- 
side  in  Greece.  Such  figures  of  Terminus  were  occasionally 
surmounted  by  the  head  or  bust  of  another  god,  as,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  of  Apollo  or  Athene,  and  in  such  cases  were  styled 
Hermapollo,  Hermathene.  Pan  and  Priapus,  both  rural 
deities,  were  also  frequently  represented  in  such  form. 

Numa  Pompilius  is  said  to  have  erected  the  first  altar  to 
this  boundary  god.  Terminus,  and  to  have  instituted  his  wor¬ 
ship  among  the  Romans.  To  accustom  his  subjects  to  respect 
the  boundaries  of  their  neighbors,  he  ordered  them  to  be 
marked  off  wdth  figures  of  the  god,  and  a  festival  to  be  held 
in  his  honor  annually  in  February.  It  was  called  the  Term- 
inalia.  Boundary  stones  were  adorned  with  flowers  on  the 
occasion,  and  a  general  sacrifice  offered,  accompanied  by  lively 
songs. 

PRIAPUS, 

Called  also  Lutinus  by  the  Romans,  was  a  son  of  Dionysus 
and  Aphrodite.  He  was  a  god  of  the  fertility  of  nature, 
and,  in  this  capacity,  also  guardian  of  vineyards,  gardens, 


PAN. 


149 


1  and  cultivated  fields.  The  idea  of  representing  the  produc- 
I  tive  power  of  nature  under  the  form  of  a  god  is  traceable 
j  back  to  a  very  great  antiquity,  but  in  later  and  depraved 
times  it  came  to  be  misused  for  the  purpose  of  giving  expres- 
'  sion  to  coarse  sensuality  and  lust.  This  accounts  for  the 
I  diversity  of  his  representations,  of  which,  however,  that  is 
1  the  most  correct  in  which  he  appears  as  a  man  of  years  hold- 
[  ing  a  pruning-knife  in  his  hand  and  fruit  in  his  lap.  The 
i  principal  centre  of  his  worship  was  Lampsacus,  a  town  in 
'  Asia  Minor,  on  the  Hellespont,  whence  it  spread  over  Greece. 
His  symbols  were,  like  those  of  Dionysus,  a  drinking-cup,  a 
'  thyrsuSy  or  a  spear.  At  the  festivals  in  his  honor  the  sacri- 
1  fices  consisted  of  milk,  honey,  and  asses. 


PAN 

'  Was  looked  upon  by  the  pastoral  inhabitants  of  Greece,  par- 
‘ticularly  in  Arcadia,  as  the  god  who  watched  over  the 
i  pasture-fields,  herdsmen,  and  herds.  Woods  and  plains, 
hunting  and  fishing,  were  under  his  immediate  care  and 
i  patronage,  and  on  this  account  he  was  differently  described 
as  a  son  now  of  Zeus,  now  of  Hermes,  his  mother  being  in  • 
each  case  a  nymph.  As  god  of  green  fields  he  was  associated 
with  the  worship  of  Dionysus  (Bacchus),  and  as  mountain 
'god  with  that  of  Cybele.  He  was  fond  of  sportive  dances 
land  playing  on  the  shepherd’s  pipe,  which  afterward  took  its 
[name  of  Pan’s  pipe  from  him,  the  story  being  that  he  was 
the  inventor  of  it.  It  seems  that  a  coy  nymph  named  Syrinx, 
whom  he  loved  and  followed,  was  transformed  into  a  reed, 
that  Pan  cut  it  and  fashioned  it  into  a  pipe  (syrinx)  with 
such  sweet  notes,  when  skilfully  played,  that  he  once  ventured 
to  challenge  Apollo  to  a  competition. 

The  judge  selected  was  Midas,  who  awarded  the  prize  to 
Pail,  and  was,  in  consequence,  punished  by  Apollo,  who  made 
ihis  ears  grow  like  those  of  an  ass. 


:3i 

■-e 


‘1 


Itl*' 


•VI 


150 


iNFEBtOB  DEITIES. 


As  a  god  of  herdsmen  and  country  people,  he  journeyed  j 
through  woods  and  across  plains,  changing  from  place  to  i 
place  like  the  nomadic  or  pastoral  people  of  early  times,  with 
no  fixed  dwelling,  resting  in  shady  grottoes,  by  cool  streams,  r 
and  playing  on  his  pipe.  Hills,  caves,  oaks,  and  tortoises 
were  sacred  to  him. 

The  feeling  of  solitude  and  lonesomeness  which  weighs 
upon  travellers  in  wild  mountain  scenes,  when  the  weather  j 
is  stormy,  and  no  sound  of  human  voice  is  to  be  heard,  was 
ascribed  to  the  presence  of  Pan,  as  a  spirit  of  the  moun¬ 
tains,  a  sort  of  Number  Nip.  And  thus  anxiety  or  alarm, 
arising  from  no  visible  or  intelligible  cause,  came  to  be  called 

Panic  fear,’^  that  is,  such  fear  as  is  produced  by  the  agi¬ 
tating  presence  of  Pan. 

His  common  companions  were  Nymphs  and  Oreades,  who 
danced  to  the  strains  of  his  pipe,  and  were  not  unfrequently 
pursued  by  him  with  violence.  It  is  said  that  he  rendered 
important  service  to  the  gods  during  the  war  with  the  Titans, 
by  the  invention  of  a  kind  of  trumpet  made  from  a  sea-shell, 
with  which  he  raised  such  a  din  that  the  Titans  took  fright, 
and  retreated  in  the  belief  that  some  great  monster  was 
approaching  against  them.  Another  story  is,  that  Dionysus, 
being  once  seriously  attacked  by  a  hostile  and  very  numerous 
body  of  men  on  his  way  to  India,  was  freed  from  them  by  a 
sudden  terrible  shout  raised  by  Pan,  which  instantly  caused 
them  to  retreat  in  great  alarm.  Both  stories  appear  to  have 
been  invented  to  give  a  foundation  for  the  expression  of 

Panic  fear,^^  which  has  been  explained  above. 

Pan,  also  called  Hylaeus  or  forest  god,  was  usually  repre¬ 
sented  as  a  bearded  man  with  a  large  hooked  nose,  with  the 
ears  and  horns  and  legs  of  a  goat,  his  body  covered  with  hair, 
with  a  shepherd^ s  pipe  (syrinx)  of  seven  reeds,  or  a  shepherd’s 
crook  in  his  hand. 

From  Greece  his  worship  was  transplanted  among  the 
Romans,  by  whom  he  was  styled  Inuus,  because  he  taught 
them  to  breed  cattle,  and  Lupercus,  because  he  taught  them 


PAN. 


151 


to  employ  dogs  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  herds  against 
wolves.  The  other  forest  deities,  who  were  represented  like 


Pan  and  Apollo. 

Pan  with  goaPs  legs,  were  called  Aegipanes,  and  sometimes 
Panisci. 


(f*. 

Kt«> 

'fi 

m 

tC 

':r:i 

*tt«  • 


.■fc’  pjjl 

tf"*' 


Sffiil 


152 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


IftNM 


Mil 


m 


,i/K. 


FAUNUS,  OR  FATUUS, 

Was  a  purely  Roman  deity,  originally  resembling  the  Greek 
Pan,  as  is  implied  in  the  name,  which  is  only  another  form 
of  the  same  word.  In  process  of  time,  however,  his  character 

passed  through  many 
ciianges,  and  became 
different  in  many  re¬ 
spects  from  that  of  the 
Greek  god.  It  was 
not  till  late  times, 
when  the  religion  and 
myths  of  the  Greeks 
emigrated  into  Italy, 
that  the  comparison 
of  him  with  the  Arca¬ 
dian  Pan  was  revived 
and  the  identity  of 
both  asserted.  The 
Roman  poets  fre¬ 
quently  call  the  Greek 
Pan  by  the  Roman 
name  of  Faun  us.  But 
the  latter  had  certain 
myths  peculiar  to  him¬ 
self,  and  is  represented 
by  them  as  a  son  of 
Picus,  and  a  grandson 
of  Saturnus,  or,  ac¬ 
cording  to  another  ver¬ 
sion,  a  son  of  Mars, 
and  originally  an  an¬ 
cient  king  of  Latin m, 
who,  for  the  good  he  did  his  people,  by  introducing  agri¬ 
culture  and  civilization,  came  to  be  worshipped  after  his 


1.^.  iiBf  «■  ■■lalM.fr.  .*•■  1::  . .  «. 


Faunus,  or  Fatuus. 


death  as  a  prophetic  deity  of  forest  and  field,  under  the  name 
of  Fatuus.  His  oracles  were  delivered  in  groves,  and  com¬ 
municated  by  means  of  dreams,  which  those  desiring  them 
obtained  by  sleeping  in  sacred  places  on  the  hides  of  animals 
that  had  been  offered  as  sacrifices.  Fauna  also  delivered 
oracles,  but  only  to  women. 

As  god  of  the  husbandman  and  patron  of  agriculture  and 
cattle-rearing,  an  annual  festival,  the  Lupercalia,  or  Paun- 
alia,  was  celebrated  in  his  honor  by  the  Romans  on  Decem¬ 
ber  5.  It  was  accompanied  by  sacrifices  of  goats,  offerings 
of  milk  and  wine,  banquets,  and  dancing  in  the  open  air  in 
meadows  and  at  cross-roads.  In  the  middle  of  February 
also  sacrifice  was  presented  to  him.  He  had  two  temples  in 
Rome.  Artistic  representations  of  him  are  rare,  and  not 
easily  distinguished  from  those  of  Pan.  The  plural  form  of 
the  word,  Fauni,  is  merely  a  Roman  expression  for  what  the 
Greeks  called  Panisci  or  Panes. 


PICUS,  PICUMNUS,  AND  PILUMNUS. 

Pious  was  also  a  pure  Roman  deity,  a  son  and  a  successor 
of  Saturnus,  father  of  Faunus,  and  husband  of  Canens.  He 
was  an  ancient  prophet  and  forest  god.  Another  story  has  it 
that  he  loved  and  married  Pomona.  Circe,  the  witch,  was 
attracted  by  his  beauty,  and  finding  her  affection  not  returned, 
revenged  herself  by  changing  him  into  a  woodpecker — a  bird 
which  was  held  to  be  a  sacred  symbol  of  prophecy  by  the 
Augurs  or  Roman  priests,  whose  office  was  to  foretell  coming 
events  by  observing  the  flight  of  birds  and  by  various  other 
phenomena.  In  early  times  his  figure  consisted  of  a  wooden 
pillar  with  a  woodpecker  on  it,  which  was  afterward  ex¬ 
changed  for  a  figure  of  a  youth  with  a  woodpecker  on  his 
head,  the  Romans  generally  considering  the  appearance  of  that 
bird  to  be  a  sign  of  some  special  intention  of  the  gods.  Pious, 
beside  being  worshipped  as  a  prophet  and  a  god,  was  also 


.'.ill 

■>2 

■f'.fe 


r<i>.  n# 


*!(* 

II 

.»tk 


154 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


looked  upon  as  one  of  the  first  kings  of  Italy,  and  must  not  be 
confounded  with  Picumnus,  who,  with  his  brother  Pilumnus, 
formed  a  pair  of  Roman  deities  whose  office  was  to  watch  over 
married  life.  It  was  the  custom  to  spread  a  couch  for  them  at 
the  birth  of  a  child.  Pilumnus,  it  was  said,  would  drive  away 
all  illness  from  the  childhood  of  the  newly  born  infant  with 
the  club  (pilum)  with  which  he  used  to  pound  the  grain; 
while  Picumnus,  who  had  introduced  the  manuring  of  land, 
would  give  the  child  growth.  Stories  were  told  of  the  two 
brothers,  of  famous  deeds  in  war  and  peace,  such  as  were 
ascribed  to  the  Dioscuri  (Castor  and  Pollux). 

FAUNA,  OR  FATUA, 

The  wife  or,  according  to  other  myths,  the  daughter  of 
Paunus,  was  a  Roman  goddess,  whose  origin  and  significa' 
tion  have  been  rendered  very  obscure  by  the  variety  of  stories 
about  her.  She  was  identified  with  the  goddess  Ops,  with 
Cybele,  with  Semele,  the  mother  of  Dionysus  (Bacchus), 
with  Maia,  the  mother  of  Hermes,  with  Gaea,  Hecate,  and 
other  goddesses.  In  the  earliest  times  she  was  called  simply 
c  kind  goddess,^’  her  proper  name  as  well  as  her  origin 

E  being  given  out  as  a  mystery.  Her  festival  took  place  on 
the  first  night  of  May,  and  was  celebrated  with  wine,  music, 

Z  games,  and  mysterious  ceremonies,  at  which  only 

®  women  and  girls  were  permitted  to  be  present.  Fauna 
.  obtained  the  name  of  the  kind  goddess^’  because,  as  some 
thought,  her  benevolence  extended  over  the  whole  creation, 
in  which  case  it  was  not  strange  that  she  should  be  identified 
with  other  deities.  As  Fatua  she  was  represented  with  the 
appearance  sometimes  of  Juno,  sometimes  of  Cybele,  but 
commonly  as  an  aged  woman,  with  pointed  ears,  holding  a 
serpent  in  her  hand. 

The  offspring  of  Fatua  and  Fatuus  were  the  Fatui,  who 
were  considered  to  be  prophetic  deities  of  the  fields,  and 


THE  SATYRS. 


155 


sometimes  evil  genii,  who  were  the  cause  of  nightmares  and 
such  like.  The  name  and  obscure  significations  of  this  god¬ 
dess  seem  to  have  given  rise  to  the  fantastic  creations  of 
modern  times,  which  recall  Fays — that  is,  beings  with  the 
power  of  witchcraft  and  prophecy,  and  possessed  now  with 
good,  now  with  bad  qualities — now  useful  and  helping  to 
men,  now  mischievous. 


THE  SATYRS, 

Like  the  Roman  Silvanus,  belong  to  the  order  of  forest 
deities,  and  are  often  confounded  with  the  Panes  and  Fauni, 
though  quite  distinct  from  them.  They  represented  the  genial 
luxuriant  life  in  Nature,  which,  under 
the  protection  and  with  the  aid  of 
Dionysus  (Bacchus),  spreads  over 
fields,  woods,  and  meadows,  and  were, 
without  doubt,  the  finest  figures  in 
all  his  company.  As  such  at  least 
they  appear  in  the  art  of  the  best 
times,  being  never  figured,  like  the 
Panes  or  Panisci,  as  half  man,  half 
animal,  but  at  most  exhibit  only  such 
signs  of  an  animal  form  as  small  goat’s 
horns,  and  a  small  goat’s  tail,  to  show 
that  their  nature  was  only  a  little 
inferior  in  nobility  to  that  within  the 
divine  or  pure  human  form. 

The  Satyrs  constitute  a  large  family, 
and  may  be  distinguished  into  several 
classes,  the  highest  of  which  were 
those  who  nearly  resembled  their  god 
(Dionysus)  in  appearance,  and  whose  occupation  was  either 
to  play  on  the  flute  for  his  amusement,  or  to  pour  out  his 
wine.  To  another  class  belonged  those  older  figures,  dis¬ 
tinguished  by  the  name  of  Sileni;  and  to  a  third,  the  very 


Satyr. 


ii! 


.1  ^ 

f'M 


liWii 


156 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


t  U' 

■iih 

•»k. 

IK::. 

I*M 

llilln' 


■Ilf 

*■11 

•■If 

tHii 


It: 

c:: 

HlN' 


I. 

c 


juvenile  so-called  Satyrisci.  The  figure  given  in  the  illus¬ 
tration  is  that  of  a  satyr  of  the  highest  order.  He  is  repre¬ 
sented  as  a  slender  youth  leaning  carelessly  on  the  trunk  of 
a  tree,  resting  from  playing  on  a  flute.  His  hair  is  shaggy ; 
on  his  brow  are  very  small  goaTs  horns.  His  countenance 
has  a  touch  of  animal  expression  in  it.  He  wears  nothing 
but  a  panther’s  skin  thrown  over  his  shoulder. 

The  life  of  the  Satyrs  was  spent  in  woods  and  on  hills,  in 
a  constant  round  of  amusements  of  all  kinds :  hunting, 
dancing,  music,  drinking,  gathering  and  pressing  the  grapes, 
or  in  the  company  of  the  god,  whirling  in  wild  dances  with 
the  Maenades.  Their  musical  instruments  were  the  syrinx, 
flute,  and  cymbals. 

We  may  remark  in  passing,  that  the  term  satire,”  com¬ 
monly  applied  to  poems  of  abuse,  has  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  the  Satyrs,  and  for  this  reason  should  not  be  written 

satyre,  ’  though  derived  from  satura.  The  latter  is  an  old 
Latin  word,  which  signified  originally  a  poetic  dialogue  or 
gossip,  which  from  its  nature  was  admirably  adapted  for 
conveying  criticism  and  indirect  abuse,  or  satire  in  our  sense 
of  the  word. 


COMUS 

Was  ^jmrshipped  as  guardian  of  festal  banquets,  of  mirthful 
enjoyments,  of  lively  humor,  fun,  and  social  pleasure,  with 
attributes  expressing  joy  in  many  ways.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  was  represented  frequently  as  an  illustration  of  the  conse¬ 
quences  of  nightly  orgies,  with  torch  reversed,  in  drunken 
sleep,  or  leaning  against  something. 


SILYANUS, 

Like  Paunus,  was  purely  a  Roman  god,  whose  function  also 
was  to  watch  over  the  interests  of  herdsmen,  living  in  woods 
and  fields,  and  taking  care  to  preserve  boundary  lines  and 


SILVAN  US. 


157 


banks  of  rivers.  It  was  said  that  he  erected  the  first  boun¬ 
dary  stones  to  mark  off  the  fields  of  different  possessors  from 
each  other,  and  thus  be¬ 
came  the  founder  of  a 
regular  system  of  land¬ 
owning.  He  was  dis¬ 
tinguished  according  to 
tne  three  departments  of 
his  activity,  house,  field, 
and  wood.  In  works  of 
art  Silvanus  appears 
altogether  as  a  purely 
human  figure — a  cheer¬ 
ful  aged  man  holding  a 
shepherd’s  pipe  (for  he, 
like  the  other  deities  of 
wood  and  field,  was 
given  to  music),  and 
carrying  a  branch  of  a 
tree  to  mark  him  spe¬ 
cially  as  god  of  the 
forest.  This  branch, 
which  sometimes  is  that 
of  a  cypress,  is  explained 
as  referring  to  his  love 
for  the  beautiful  Cypa- 
rissus,  whom  he  is  said 
to  have  changed  'into  a 

cypress.  There  was  a  figure  of  Silvanus  in  Home  beside^ 
the  temple  of  Saturn,  and  two  sanctuaries  dedicated  to  him. 
Women  were  excluded  from  his  worship.  The  myths  are 
not  clear  about  his  origin.  Some  of  them  describe  him  as  a 
son  of  Saturn, 


Silvanus. 


Sfftll 


158 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


INIM; 

liaNii’ 


PALES 

Was  worshipped  originally  in  Sicily,  and  afterward  by  the 
Romans,  as  a  deity  of  cattle-rearing,  being,  according  to 
some,  male,  according  to  others,  female.  A  merry  festival, 
called  Palilia,  was  held  in  honor  of  this  deity  everj  year  on 
April  21,  the  day  on  which  the  foundation  of  the  city  of 
Rome  was  said  to  have  been  laid.  Offerings  of  milk  and 
must  were  presented  to  her,  while  pipes  were  played  and 
cymbals  beat  round  a  blazing  tire  of  hay  and  straw.  An  ox 
was  driven  through  this  blazing  fire,  the  herdsmen  rushing 
after  it,  a  ceremony  intended  for  a  symbol  of  expiation. 
This  festival,  because  of  its  falling  on  the  anniv^ersary  of  the 
foundation  of  the  city,  served  also  to  commemorate  that  event. 
This  ancient  deity  was  represented  as  an  aged  woman  lean- 
ing  on  a  leafless  branch  of  a  tree,  or  holding  a  shepherd^  s 
crook  in  her  hand,  and  was  frequently  identified  with  Fauna, 
sometimes  with  Cybele,  and  even  with  Vesta. 


•’■Ill’ 


SILENUS,  AND  THE  SILENI. 

In  some  of  the  myths  Silenus  is  represented  as  a  son  of 
Hermes  (Mercury),  in  others  of  Pan  and  a  nymph,  the 
latter  statement  accounting  for  his  being  figured  with  the 
tail  and  ears  of  a  goat,  while  the  rest  of  his  form  was  purely 
human.  He  was  usually  described  as  the  oldest  of  the  Satyrs 
of  whom,  indeed,  all  those  well  advanced  in  years  were 
styled  Sileni.  Owing  to  his  age,  he  came  to  be  looked  upon 
as  a  sort  of  paternal  guardian  of  the  light-headed  troops  of 
Satyrs,^  though  with  regard  to  mythological  signification  he 
was  quite  different  from  them.  One  myth  traces  his  origin, 
along  with  the  worship  of  Dionysus  (Bacchus),  to  Asia 
Minor,  and  particularly  to  the  districts  of  Lydia  and  Phry¬ 
gia,  the  original  centre  of  the  worship  of  Cybele  (Rhea).  In 


SILENUS,  AND  THE  SILENT.  159 

that  quarter  he  was  looked  on  as  a  sprite  or  demon  of  fer¬ 
tilizing  fountains,  streams,  marshy  land,  and  luxuriant  gar- 


li>f« 

s 

)<ta« 

IB 

US'i 

.a 

:rj} 

'kW  Mt 
•»“i  nr 

fi 

It*  • 


**• 


dens,  as  well  as  the  inventor  of  such  music  as  was  produced 
by  the  syrinx  (Pan^s  pipe)  and  the  double  flute  which  was 
used  in  the  worship  of  Rhea  and  Dionysus. 


Silenus. 


liwis 


160 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


According  to  other  stories,  he  was  born  in  and  was  the 
first  king  of  Nysa,  but  which  of  the  many  places  of  that 
name  remains  untold.  It  was  most  probably  Nysa  in  Thrace; 
for  Silenus,  with  the  help  of  local  nymphs,  nursed  and  tended 
the  infancy  of  Dionysus,  as  works  of  art  show,  and  this, 
according  to  the  myths,  was  spent  in  Thrace. 

To  the  Greek  mind  he  appeared  specially  as  a  companion 
of  Dionysus,  one  who  knew  how  to  press  the  grapes  for  wine, 
and  so  much  loved  that  liquid  as  readily  to  indulge  in  it  to 
excess,  in  which  case  the  Satyrs  kept  him  steady  on  his  ass, 
or  else  he  would  have  fallen.  To  express  this  feature  of  his 
character,  he  was  figured  with  a  wreath  of  vine  tendrils  on 
his  head,  with  a  drinking-cup  or  wine-skin  in  his  hand,  or 
intoxicated  and  supported  by  two  Satyrs.  He  was  a  short, 
round-bellied,  hairy  old  man,  with  a  bald  head. 

The  ass  or  mule  he  used  to  ride  was  described  as  a  most 
intelligent  beast,  and  said  to  have  distinguished  itself  at  the 
time  of  the  war  with  the  Giants,  in  which  its  master,  as  com- 
panion  and  body-servant,  a  sort  of  Sancho  Panza,  to  Diony- 
sus,  took  part,  by  braying  so  loudly  as  to  alarm  the  Giants, 
and  help  to  put  them  to  flight. 

«■!?■ 

ilK 

ft: 

c 

OCEANUS,  TETHYS,  PKOTEUS. 

Oceanus,  son  of  Uranus  and  Gaea,  was  god  of  the  sea, 
and,  like  Kerens,  was  looked  upon  as  the  father  of  a  large 
family  of  marine  deities  who  went  by  the  general  name  of 
Oceanides.  He  was  figured  like  Kereus,  but  with  the 
addition  of  a  bulks  horn,  or  two  short  horns,  a  sceptre  in 
his  hand  to  indicate  his  power,  riding  on  a  monster  of  the 
deep,  or  sitting  with  his  wife,  Tethys,  by  his  side  in  a  car 
drawn  by  creatures  of  the  sea.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the 
most  upright  of  his  brother  Titans,  and  to  have  had  no  share 
in  the  conspiracy  against  Uranus.  For  this  reason  he  re¬ 
tained  his  office,  while  the  other  Titans  were  consigned  to 


yEREUS  AND  THE  NEREIDES.  jgj 

Tartarus.  It  was  under  the  care  of  Oceanus  and  his  wife 
that  Hera  grew  up,  and  to  them  she  turned  for  safety  during 
the  war  with  the  Titans.  So  quickly  had  his  offspring  spread 
among  the  rivers,  streams,  and  fountains  of  the  earth,  that 
the  sons  alone  were  reckoned  as  three  thousand  in  number. 
He  was  also  identified  with  the  great  stream,  Oceanus,  which 
was  supposed  to  flow  in  a  circle  around  the  earth,  and  to  be 
the  source  of  all  rivers  and  running  waters.  His  daughters, 
the  Oceanides,  were,  like  all  marine  deities,  represented  with 
crowns  of  sea-weeds,  strings  of  corals,  holding  shells,  and 
riding  on  dolphins.  Painters  rendered  them  as  half  human 
and  half  fish  in  shape  ;  but  poets  described  them  as  beings  of 
purely  human  form,  giving  their  number  very  differently. 

Proteus  was  a  son  of  Oceanus  and  Tethys,  whose  proper 
dwelling-place  was  the  depths  of  the  sea,  which  he  only  left 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  sea-calves  of  Poseidon  to  graze 
on  the  coasts  and  islands  of  the  Mediterranean.  Being  an 
aged  man,  he  was  looked  on  as  possessed  of  prophetic  power 
and  the  secrets  of  witchcraft,  though  he  would  not  be  per¬ 
suaded  to  exercise  the  former  except  by  deceit  or  under  threat 
of  violence.  Even  then  he  made  every  effort  to  evade  his  ques¬ 
tioners,  changing  himself  into  a  great  variety  of  shapes,  such 
as  those  of  a  lion,  panther,  swine,  or  serpent,  and,  as  a  last 
r  source,  into  the  form  of  fire  or  water.  This  faculty  of 
transformation,  which  both  Proteus  and  Thetis  possessed, 

corresponds  wiih  the  great  changeabilitv  in  the  appearance 
of  the  sea.  ‘  ^ 

NEBEUS  AND  THE  NEREIDES,  j 

Or  Dorides,  as  they  were  sometimes  called,  are  frequently 
confounded  in  mythology  with  Oceanus  and  his  daughters, 

the  Oceanides,  all  of  them  being  marine  deities  of  a  lower- 
order. 

Nereus  was  looked  on  as  an  ancient  sea-god,  a  son  of 
Pontus  and  Gaea,  who,  when  the  dominion  of  the  sea  fell  to 

Murray  13 


i«AI< 


162 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


Poseidon,  obtained  a  position  under  liim,  and  along  with  it 
the  power  of  prophecy.  With  Doris,  his  wife,  he  had  as  1^ 

offspring  fifty,  or,  according  to  other  accounts,  a  hundred  j: 

daughters,  called  Nereides  or  Dorides,  of  whom  Amphitrite  ^ 
and  Thetis,  and  next  to  them  Panope  and  Galatea,  were 
the  most  famous,  the  first  mentioned  having  become  the  wife  j| 
of  Poseidon,  while  ev(  n  Zeus  desired  to  marry  the  second.  ’ 
But  the  Fates  having  announced  that  from  this  marriage 
would  issue  a  son  who  would  surpass  his  father  in  might, 


Nereid. 


Zeus  relinquished  his  wish,  and  gave  Tlu'tis  in  marriage  to 
Peleus,  to  whom  she  bore  Achilles,  and  thereafter  returned 
to  live  among  her  sisters  of  the  sea. 

Nereus  is  represented  in  works  of  art  as  an  old  man  with 
a  look  of  dignity,  his  daughters  as  sweet,  beautiful  maidens. 
Poets  described  them  as  modest  nymphs  dwelling  in  a  splen¬ 
did  cave  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  now  riding  on  dolphins  or 
other  creatures  of  the  deep,  now  swimming,  sporting,  splash¬ 
ing  about  in  troops  on  the  sea,  sometimes  accompanying  the 
sea-born  Aphrodite,  or  playing  in  the  warm  sunshine  on  the 


u* 


163  A 


PHOEBUS  APOLLO. 


TRITON  AND  THE  TRITONS.  Igg 

shores  of  bays  and  at  rivers'  months,  drying  their  wet  tresses. 
In  such  places  they  were  duly  worshipped.  Xo  the  pious 
feelings  of  the  Greeks  the  whole  of  nature  appeared  in  some 
way  divine,  and  was  accordingly  viewed  with  reverence  and 
sanctity.  In  this  spirit  the  phenomena  of  the  sea  were  viewed 
under  the  form  of  divine  personifications  called  Nereides,  the 
peaceful  shimmering  light  upon  its  gently  moving  bosom  be¬ 
ing  represented  by  G-alene  and  Glance,  the  play  of  fantastic 
waves  by  Thoe  and  Halie,  the  impetuous  rush  of  billows  on 
island  shores  by  Nesaee  and  Actaea,  the  fascination  of  the 
gaily  rising  tide  by  Pasithea,  Erato,  and  Euneice,  the 
swell  and  impulse  of  mighty  waves  by  Pherusa  and  Dyna- 
mene,  who  all  followed  in  the  train  of  Amphitrite. 

It  may  be  that  these  myths  gave  rise  to  the  modern  legends 
of  mermaids. 


TRITON  AND  THE  TRITONS. 

Triton,  sometimes  said  to  be  a  soji  of  Poseidon  and  Am- 
pbitrite,  sometimes  of  Oceanus  and  Tethys,  was  a  marine 
deity  of  a  lower  order,  and  the  herald  of  Neptune,  in  which 
capacity  he  was  represented  using  a  long  twisted  shell  as  a 
horn  to  blow  a  loud  blast  from  when  the  sea  was  to  be  agi¬ 
tated  with  storms,  and  a  gentle  note  when  a  storm  was  to 
be  hushed  into  rest.  AVhen  Neptune  travelled  on  the  waves, 
it  was  Triton  who  announced  his  approach  and  summoned 
the  other  marine  deities.  The  Tritons  were  like  him  in 
figure,  and  had  similar  duties  to  perform.  Occasionally  we 
find  him  described  in  stories  as  a  monster  who,  by  his  wan-^ 
tonness  and  voracity,  rendered  the  seashore  dangerous,  and 
was,  in  consequence,  attacked  by  Dionysus  and  Hercules. 

In  the  war  with  the  Giants  he  rendered  considerable  ser¬ 
vice  to  Zeus,  by  raising  such  a  frightful  din  with  his  shrill 
trumpet,  that  the  Giants,  fearing  the  approach  of  some  pow¬ 
erful  monster  or  some  fresh  danger,  retired. 

Triton  and  the  Tritons  were  represented  in  works  of  art 


It  Vi  KM* 


164 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


as  beings  of  human  form  down  to  the  hips,  covered  with  small 
scales,  holding  a  sea-shell  in  their  hands,  the  lower  part  of 
them  formed  by  the  body  and  tail  of  a  dolphin.  Triton  was 
also  described  as  driving  on  the  sea  in  a  chariot  drawn  by 
horses. 


Our  illustration  represents  a  family  group  of  Tritons  with 
a  dolphin  in  the  background. 

In  the  early  myths  concerning  Triton,  he  appears  as  the 
personification  of  the  roaring  sea,  and,  like  Neptune  and 
Amphitrite,  lived  in  a  golden  palace  in  the  depths  of  the 
c  ocean. 

:  LEUCOTHEA 

If 

Was  regarded  by  sailors  and  those  who  travelled  on  the  sea 
as  their  special  and  friendly  goddess,  a  character  which  she 
displayed  in  her  timely  assistance  of  Odysseus  (Ulysses)  in 
his  dangerous  voyage.  She  is  said  to  have  been  a  daughter 
of  Cadmus,  the  great-grandson  of  Poseidon.  Originally 
the  wife  of  Athamas,  in  which  capacity  she  bore  the  name 
of  Ino,  she  had  incurred  the  wrath  of  Hera,  because  she  had 


.'if 

r 


(Cti 


Tritons. 


THE  SIRENS. 


1G5 


Buckled  the  infant  Bacchus,  a  son  of  her  sister  Semele  and 
of  Zeus,  and  for  this  was  pursued  by  her  raving  husband, 
and  thrown,  along  with  her  youngest  son,  Melicertes,  into 
the  sea,  from  which  both  mother  and  child  were  saved  by  a 
dolphin  or  by  Nereides.  From  that  time  she  took  her  place 
as  a  marine  deity,  and,  under  the  name  of  Leucothea,  was 
known  as  the  protector  of  all  travellers  by  sea,  while  her  son 
came  to  be  worshipped  as  god  of  harbors,  under  the  name  of 
Palaemon.  Her  worship,  especially  at  Corinth,  the  oldest 
maritime  town  of  importance  in  Greece,  and  in  the  islands 
of  Ehodes,  Tenedos,  and  Crete,  as  well  as  in  the  coast  towns 
generally,  was  traced  back  to  a  high  antiquity. 


THE  SIRENS, 


According  to  one  version  of  the  myth,  were  daughters  of  the 


river-god  Achelous  (hence 
and  a  Muse.  According  to 
another  version,  they  were 
daughters  of  Phorcys.  In 
either  case  they  had  been 
nymphs  and  playmates  of 
Persephone,  and,  for  not 
protecting  her  when  she  was 
carried  off  by  Pluto,  were 
transformed  by  Demeter 
into  beings  half  woman  and 
half  bird  at  first,  and  lat¬ 
terly  with  the  lower  part  of 
the  body  in  the  shape  of 
a  fish,  so  that  they  had  some 


their  other  name,  Acheloides')  5 


resemblance  to  marine  dei-  i 

ties  such  as  the  Tritons.  \ 

Our  illustration  repre- 

sents  a  Siren,  half  bird  and  half  woman  in  form,  playing 
on  a  double  flute. 


ffmi 


166 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


lu  the  Homeric  poems  their  number  is  not  specified.  In  . 
later  times  the  names  of  three  of  them  are  commonly  given  :  i 
Parthenope,  Lig-ea,  and  Leucosia.  It  is  said  that  once,  I 
daring  the  time  when  the  greater  part  of  their  body  was  that  ij 
of  a  bird,  they  challenged  the  Muses  to  a  competition  in  sing-  | 
ing,  but  failed,  and  were  punished  by  having  the  principal  I 
feathers  of  their  wings  plucked  by  the  Muses,  who  decked  : 
themselves  with  them. 

The  common  belief  was  that  the  Sirens  inhabited  the  cliffs 
of  the  islands  lying  between  Sicily  and  Italy,  and  that  the  ;| 
sweetness  of  their  voices  bewitched  passing  mariners,  com-  i 
pelling  them  to  land  only  to  meet  their  death.  Skeletons  lay  :  i 
thickly  strewn  around  their  dwelling;  for  they  had  obtained  j 
the  right  to  exercise  this  cruel  power  of  theirs  on  men  so  ^  jj 
long  as  no  crew  succeeded  in  defying  their  charms.  This 
the  Argonauts,  of  whom  more  will  be  said  hereafter,  were 
'  5  the  first  to  accomplish,  by  keeping  their  attention  fixed  on 
the  unsurpassably  sweet  music  of  their  companion,  Orpheus, 
liili  passed  safely  was  Odysseus  (Ulysses).  He 

!I1!|  had  taken  the  precaution,  on  approaching,  to  stop  the  ears  of 
his  crew,  so  that  they  might  be  deaf  to  the  bewitching  music, 
and  to  have  himself  firmly  bound  to  the  mast,  so  that,  while 
hearing  the  music,  he  would  not  be  able  to  follow  its  allure- 
^  ments.  In  this  way  the  power  of  the  Sirens  came  to  an  end, 
and  in  despair  they  cast  themselves  into  the  sea,  and  were 
changed  into  cliffs. 

ci;  This  transformation  helps  to  explain  the  signification  of 
..  the  myth  of  the  Sirens,  who  were  probably  personifications 
;;  of  hidden  banks  and  shallows,  where  the  sea  is  smooth  and 
inviting  to  the  sailor,  but  proves  in  the  end  the  destruction 
of  his  ship.  The  alluring  music  ascribed  to  them  may  either 
refer  to  the  soft,  melodious  murmur  of  the  waves,  or  be 
simply  a  figurative  expression  for  allurement. 


THE  RIVER-GODS. 


167 


THE  RIVER-GODS 

W ere,  as  a  rule,  looked  upon  as  sons  of  Oceanus,  exercising 


The  Nile  God. 


a  dominion  over  individual  rivers.  They  were  represented 


The  Father  of  the  Tiber. 


194 


as  bearded  men,  crowned  with  sedge,  and  often  with  horns 
on  their  heads,  reclining  and  resting  one  hand  on  a  rudder, 


if  At< 


►> 


Htrj! 

(c:.» 


■nis 

•  lli>4>- 

•  Iffill 

fc: 

r; 


In. 

c 


Will. 


168 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


the  other  on  a  vase,  out  of  which  water  flows,  to  indicate  the 
constant  flow  of  a  river. 

The  names  of  many  of  them  have  been  handed  down  in 
ancient  myths,  the  most  important  being  Alpheus,  Achelous, 
Peneus,  Asopus,  Cephissus.  Of  Alpheus,  it  is  said  that 
he  loved  Arethusa,  one  of  the  myths  in  the  train  of  Artemis,  j 
and  so  persistently  followed  her,  though  his  affections  were 
not  returned,  that  Artemis  interfered,  and  changed  the 
nymph,  to  avoid  his  pursuit,  into  a  fountain,  the  waters  of  J 
which,  notwithstanding,  were  said  to  join  those  of  Alpheus. 


NYMPHS. 


The  restless  and  fertile  imagination  of  the  ancients  peopled  y 
with  beings  of  a  higher  order  than  themselves  every  moun-  j 
tain,  valley,  plain,  and  forest,  every  thicket,  bush,  and  tree,  •  | 
every  fountain,  stream,  and  lake.  These  beings,  in  whose  ij 

existence  both  Greeks  and  Romans  firmly  believed,  were  ■ 

called  Nymphs,  and  resembled  in  many  respects  the  mermaids 
and  fairies  of  modern  superstition.  '  [ 

Generally  speaking,  the  Nymphs  were  a  kind  of  middle-  i 
beings  between  the  gods  and  men,  communicating  with  both,  r  [ 
loved  and  respected  by  both;  gifted  with  the  power  of  making  |  ji 
themselves  visible  or  invisible  at  pleasure;  able  to  do  many  V 
things  only  permitted  to  be  done  by  the  gods;  living  like  the 
gods,  on  ambrosia;  leading  a  cheerful,  happy  life  of  long 
duration,  and  retaining  strength  and  youthfulness  to  the  last,  i 
but  not  destined  to  immortality,  like  the  gods.  In  extraor-  v 
dinary  cases  they  were  summoned,  it  was  believed,  to  the  ■  ? 
councils  of  the  Olympian  gods,  but  usually  remained  in  their  • 
particular  spheres,  in  secluded  grottoes  and  peaceful  valleys, 
occupied  in  spinning,  weaving,  bathing,  singing  sweet  songs, 
dancing,  sporting,  or  accompanying  deities  who  passed 
through  their  territories,  hunting  with  Artemis  (Diana), 
rushing  about  with  Dionysus  (Bacchus),  making  merry  with 


NYMPHS, 


169 


,  Apollo  or  Hermes  (Mercury),  but  always  in  a  hostile  atti¬ 
tude  toward  the  wanton  and  excited  Satyrs. 

Even  the  earliest  of  the  ancient  myths  abound  with  ac¬ 
counts  of  the  various  things  done  by  nymphs,  while  poetic 
■  fancy  in  later  times  delighted  to  play  with  such  creations. 

The  Greeks,  the  great  mass  of  them  at  any  rate,  believed 
!  firmly  in  the  existence  of  a  vast  number  of  nymphs,  and 
:  attested  their  belief  by  erecting  frequently  very  costly  altars 


in  places  where  the  presence  and  influence  of  these  beings 
weie  felt  as  by  fountains,  or  in  moist  meadows,  in  woods, 
and  on  hills.  Grottoes  and  caves  where  water  dripped  or 
flowed,  and  where  the  bees  hummed,  were  sacred  to  them. 
Sanctuaries,  called  Nymphae,  were  also  erected  for  their 
special  honor  in  well  watered  valleys,  caves,  and  even  in 
towns,  those  in  towns  being  particularly  splendid  in  ap¬ 
pearance,  and  commonly  employed  for  the  ceremonies  of 
marriage.  The  sacrifices  presented  to  them  consisted  of 
goats,  lambs,  milk,  and  oil,  wine  being  forbidden. 


s<n|i 


170 


INFEBIOB  DEITIES. 


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As  to  the  origin  of  the  Nymphs,  the  stories  are  so  many 
and  so  different  that  they  cannot  be  all  given  here.  Very 
many  of  these  beings,  it  would  seem,  were  the  offspring  of  jl 
Zeus  and  Thetis.  Separating  them  in  the  most  convenient  | 
manner,  according  to  their  local  habitations  or  reputed  origin, 
vve  have  the  following  classes  :  i 

1.  Dryades,  or  Hamadryades,  also  called  Alseides,  I 
nymplis  of  woods  and  trees,  inhabiting  groves,  ravines,  and  I! 
wooded  valleys,  fond  of  making  merry  with  Apollo,  Hermes  •  j 
(Mercury),  and  Pan,  and  very  attractive  to  the  Satyrs.  Some-  4^  i 
times  they  appeared  as  rustic  huntresses  or  shepherdesses.  "'i 

2.  Oreades,  or  mountain-nymphs,  sometimes  also  named 
after  the  particular  mountains  which  they  haunted,  as  Peli- 
ades  (from  Pelion),  Idaean  (from  Ida),  Cithaeronian  (from 
Cithaeron),  etc. 

3.  Limoniades,  or  Leimoniades,  nymphs  of  meadows 

and  flowers.  .;i 

|j 

4.  Napaeae,  or  Auloniades,  nymphs  of  the  mountain  vales  js 

in  which  herds  grazed.  The  last  three  families  of  nymphs  " 
were  usually  found  in  the  company  of  Pan,  rushing  gaily 
and  merrily  over  hills  and  valleys,  through  woods  and  mead¬ 
ows.  A  favorite  and  lovely  nymph  of  the  vales  was'Eury-  ^ 
dice,  who,  being  bitten  by  a  snake,  and  dying  in  consequence, 
was  mourned  by  all  her  sisters,  and  sung  by  Orpheus  in  most  ^ 
touching  melancholy  strains.  B 

5.  Oceanides,  daughters  of  Oceanus,  nymphs  of  fountains  ?  f 
and  streams,  and  named  according  to  the  characteristics  of  ^ 
streams,  as  Prymno,  ^Mike  a  cascade  which  falls  over  an  ^  ; 
abrupt  height;^’  Hippo,  like  a  swift  current;^^  Plexaure  4  ^ 
^Mike  a  dashing  brook  Galaxaure,  ^Mike  the  refresh! ng  T  ' 
coolness  of  a  shady  stream;’’  Calypso,  ‘‘  like  the  hidden  5  ; 
tide;”  Rhodia,  flowing  among  rose-trees;”  Callirrhoe, 
^^like  a  beautiful  stream;”  Melobosis,  ^^like  a  river  that 
waters  the  meadows;”  Telesto,  nymph  of  the  cool 
springs,”  which  the  Greeks  piously  used  for  cleansing  and 
purification. 


NYMPHS, 


171 

6.  Nereides,  daughters  of  Nereus,  sometimes  also  called 
Dorides^  after  their  mother  (see  Nereus). 

7.  Naiades  —  generally  speaking,  nymphs  of  the  liquid 
element,  daughters  of  Zeus.  They  were  styled  fostering^’ 
nymphs,  and  for  this  reason  were  commonly  found  in  the 
company  of  Zeus,  Poseidon,  and  Dionysus,  as  well  as  of 

.  Demeter,  Persephone,  and  Aphrodite,  and  besides  were 
looked  on  as  deities  of  marriage  and  sacred  rites. 

8.  Potameides,  nymphs  of  the  rivers. 

9.  Limnades,  nymphs  of  lakes,  marshes,  and  swamps,  most 
dangerous  beings,  who  allured  and  misled  travellers  by  their 

.  songs  or  mimic  screams  for  help. 

10.  Pleiades,  seven  daughters  of  Atlas  and  Pleione,  sis- 
i  ters  of  the  Hyades. 

11.  Atlantides,  offspring  of  Atlas,  and  belonging  to  the 
i  same  order  as  the  last  mentioned. 

12.  Hyades,  according  to  the  myth,  daughters  of  Atlas 
I  and  Aethra  ;  sisters,  or,  according  to  other  versions,  daugh- 
;  ters  of  Hyas.  Languishing  of  grief  at  the  death  of  Hyas, 

^  which  was  caused  by  a  wild  animal,  they  were  changed  into 
^  stars,  being  the  seven  stars  which  form  the  head  in  the  con- 
s  stellation  of  the  Bull  (Taurus).  Their  ascension  takes  place 

from  May  17th  to  21st,  and  usually  indicates  rain,  for  which 
'  reason  they  were  often  called  the  rainy  stars.  They  were 
I  also  called  Dodonides,  and  described  as  the  nurses  of  Zeus 
I  of  Dodona.  One  of  them  was  called  Thyene. 

All  the  most  prominent  of  the  nymphs  had  names  of  their 
own. 

They  were  represented  as  damsels  of  wonderful  beauty, 
p’with  attributes  suitable  to  their  respective  avocations. 

Our  illustration  represents  three  of  them  tending  Pegasus 
(at  a  fountain.  All  three  have  their  hair  bound  with  sedge; 
dwo  of  them  have  vases. 


1% 

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172 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


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ECHO  :  NARCISSUS. 

Echo  was  a  mountain-nymph,  and  at  the  same  time  a  ser¬ 
vant  of  Hera,  according  to  one  account,  but  had  to  be  kept 


Echo  and  Narcissus. 


at  a  distance  on  account  of  her  talkativeness.  In  othei’ 
accounts  she  is  described  as  a  beautiful  nymph  whom  the 
forest-god  Pan  loved.  Happening  to  meet  the  beautiful 


the  hespehides. 


173 


Narcissus,  a  son  of  the  river-god  Cephissus,  she  con- 
ceived  a  very  tender  passion  for  him,  which  he  unfortunately 
did  not  return.  Echo  grieved  in  consequence,  and  pined 
away  day  by  day  till  at  length  her  voice  was  all  that  was 
left  of  her.  She  then  took  to  the  mountains  and  woods 
which  Pan  frequented,  and  o  cupied  herself  in  mimicking 
every  vocal  sound  she  heard. 

Narcissus  was  a  personification  of  the  consequences  of 
se  f-conceit  in  the  matter  of  personal  appearance,  his  vanity 
being  such  that  he  used  to  idle  by  the  brinks  of  clear  foun¬ 
tains,  and  gaze  upon  the  reflection  of  his  own  face,  till  at  last 
he  languished  in  his  unreturned  love  for  it.  Other  stories 
affirm  that  he  was  punished  for  this  conduct  by  the  gods  by 
being  changed  into  a  flower  which  still  bears  his  name.  ’ 

THE  HESPEEIDES 

<tf 

Were  daughters  of  Atlas,  an  enormous  giant,  who,  as  the  ^ 

ancients  believed,  stood  upon  the  western  confines  of  the  ^ 

earth,  and  supported  the  heavens  on  his  shoulders.  Their 
mother  was  Hesperis,  a  personification  of  the  region  of  the  i'i 

West,''  where  the  sun  continued  to  shine  after  he  had  set  on  k 

Greece  and  where,  as  travellers  told,  was  an  abundance  of 
c  loice  delicious  fruits,  which  could  only  have  been  produced  CSJ 
by  a  special  divine  influence.  The  Gardens  of  the  Hesper- 
Ides  with  the  golden  apples  were  believed  to  exist  in  some 
island  m  the  ocean,  or,  as  it  was  sometimes  thought,  in  the 
islands  on^  the  north  or  west  coast  of  Africa.  They  were  [U 
far-famed  in  antiquity;  for  it  was  there  that  springs  of  nectar  [.V 
flowed  by  the  couch  of  Zeus,  and  there  that  the  earth  dis- 
played  the  rarest  blessings  of  the  gods  :  it  was  another  Eden. 

As  knowledge  increased  with  regard  to  western  lands  it  be- 
came  necessary  to  move  this  paradise  farther  and  farther  out 
into  the  Western  Ocean. 

As  to  the  origin  of  these  precious  golden  apples,  there  is  a 
myth  which  says  that  among  the  deities  who  attended  the  mar- 


174 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


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consisted  in  her  causing  a  tree  to  spring  up  with  golden  apples 
on  it.  The  care  of  this  tree,  which  highly  pleased  the  newly 


riage  ceremony  of  Zeus  and  Hera,  bringing  various  presents 
with  them,  was  Titaea,  a  goddess  of  the  earth,  whose  gift 


Atlas, 


THE  MUSES. 


175 


\  wedded  pair,  was  entrusted  to  the  Hesperides.  But,  as  they 
I  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  pluck  and  eat  its  fruit,  it 
:  became  necessary  to  place  the  serpent  Ladon  to  watch  it. 

\  Hercules,  among  his  other  adventures,  slew  this  serpent  and 
carried  off  some  of  the  apples,  which,  however,  w^ere  after- 

:  ward  returned  to  the  Hesperides,  through  the  kindness  of 
I  Athene. 

The  common  account  speaks  of  only  three  Hesperides — 

I  Aegle,  Erytheis,  and  Hespera.  Arethusa  was  afterward 
1  added,  and  in  time  three  more,  so  that  they  were  seven  in  all. 


THE  MUSES, 

Or  Pierides,  as  they  were  also  styled,  were  regarded  as 


nymphs  of  the  springs  that  bickered  down  the  sides  of 

Mount  Helicon  and  Mount  Parnassus, 

called  Castalia,  Aganippe,  and  Pimpla  or 

Pimplea,  the  waters  of  which  were  thought 

to  have  the  property  of  inspiration.  Their 

origin  was  traced  to  Zeus  and  the  Titanic 

nymph  Mnemosyne,  the  name  of  Pierides 

being  applied  to  them  from  Pieria,  on  Mount 

Olympus,  the  reputed  place  of  their  birth. 


a  locality  which  appears  to  have  been  origin¬ 
ally  the  principal  centre  of  their  worship, 
whence  it  spread  first  and  most  conspicu¬ 
ously  to  Mount  Helicon,  in  Boeotia,  and 
father  to  Athens,  Sparta,  Troezen,  and 
elsewhere.  It  was  usual  to  ascribe  this  ex¬ 
tension  of  the  worship  of  the  Muses  to  a 
Thracian  named  Pierus,  of  whom  it  was 
also  said  that,  having  nine  daughters,  he 
named  them  each  after  one  of  the  Muses, 


Mother  of  the  Muses, 


and  challenged  the  latter  to  a  competition 

in  music,  the  upshot  of  which  was  that  his  daughters  lost  the 

award,  and  were,  as  punishment  for  their  daring,  transformed 


Murray — 14 


■J 


176 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


into  singing-birds.  The  worship  of  the  Muses  on  Mount 
Helicon  was  celebrated  in  a  grove,  in  which  were  the  sacred 

fountains  of  Aganippe 
and  Hippocrene,  with 
many  monuments  of  art 
dedicated  to  the  Muses, 
contests  called  Musea 
being  associated  with 
the  ceremonies. 

T he  nine  Muses  whom 
we  are  accustomed  to 

nV  Greek 

and  Roman  mythol¬ 
ogy,  were  looked  upon 


m  '■ 


fc;ii 


Ml*  II 


Clio. 

as  the  patron  goddesses  of  music  and 
song,  of  poetry,  and  of  the  fine  arts 
generally,  that  tended  to  promote 
the  civilization  of  mankind.  Their 
local  habitation  was  on  the  summits 
of  Mounts  Helicon,  Parnassus,  and 
Pindus.  They  would,  however,  fre¬ 
quently  visit  Olympus,  to  gladden 
jthe  blessed  existence  of  the  gods 
there  by  the  exercise  of  their  arts, 
especially  by  music  and  the  recital 
of  songs,  the  burden  of  which  was 
probably,  as  on  most  other  occasions, 
the  glory  and  omnipotence  of  Zeus. 
Sometimes  they  would  lend  their 


m 


Melpomene. 


presence  also  to  enliven  happy  incidents  in  the  lives  of  favor¬ 
ite  mortals  such,  for  example,  as  the  marriage  of  Cadmus 


s 


THE  MUSES. 


J77 


and  Harmonia,  or  that  of  Peleus  and  Thetis;  and  sometimes 
even  at  moments  of  great  sorrow,  as  at  the  death  of  Achilles, 
they  would  descend  to  mourn  in 
strains  which  drew  forth  tears 
from  gods  and  men.  Their  leader 
was  Apollo,  who  in  that  capacity 
bore  the  title  of  Musag'etes.  But 
though  generally  associated  with 
Apollo,  and  probably,  therefore, 
imbued  with  the  form  of  inspira¬ 
tion  peculiar  to  the  god  of  oracles, 
they  are  also  found  to  have  been 
connected  with  the  worship  of 
Dionysus,  whose  inspiration  is 
known  to  have  been  of  a  wild 
and  excited  nature.  As  nymphs 


ft. 


I 


A 


fk/fc: 


Mimi'lll 

Calliope. 


Thalia. 

of  the  sacred  streams  on  the 
mountains  where  they  lived, 
their  music  and  song  must, 
for  the  sake  of  harmony,  have 
repeated  the  rushing  movement 
of  water,  and  it  may  be  to  this 
that  their  association  with  Dio¬ 
nysus  is  due. 

In  addition  to  the  usual  nine 
we  hear  of  three  other  Muses — 
Melete,  Mneme,  and  Aoede, 
who  are  described  as  daugh¬ 
ters  of  Uranus,  and  supposed  to  have  existed  from  the 
earliest  times,  As^  however^  both  Homer  and  Hesiod  appear 


tf.10 


178 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


to  know  only  the  number  nine,  we  may  assume  that  the  be¬ 
lief  in  the  existence  of  the  other  three  must  have  originated 

in  the  speculations  of  com¬ 
paratively  later  times. 

In  works  of  art  of  the 
earlier  period  the  Muses 
were  always  represented 
together  in  company,  all 
wearing  the  same  kind  of 
dress,  and  all  provided 
with  attributes  in  the 
forms  of  musical  instru¬ 
ments — such  as  the  lyre, 
harp,  and  flute,  or  with 


Urania. 

rolls  of  manuscript.  The  custom 
of  collecting  in  such  rolls  literary 
works  produced  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Muses  was  the  first  founda¬ 
tion  of  libraries  and  museums, 
such  as  they  exist  in  modern  times, 
and  thus  the  word  ^  ‘  museum  car¬ 
ries  us  back  to  the  early  worship  of 
the  Muses,  and  to  the  early  civili¬ 
zation  so  far  as  it  was  due  to  their 
inspiration. 

The  nine  Muses  were  represent¬ 
ed  according  to  their  various  avo¬ 
cations  in  the  following  manner: 

1.  Clio,  the  muse  of  History,  seated  wearing  a  wreath  of 
laurel,  and  holding  out  a  half-open  inscribed  parchment  roll; 


Euterpe. 


'THE  MUSES. 


179 


!  beside  her  a  cylindrical  box,  containing  more  of  these  manu¬ 
scripts.  In  other  cases  she  appears  standing,  holding  a  roll  of 
I  manuscript  in  one  hand, an  instrument  for  writing  in  the  other. 

2.  Melpomene,  the  muse  of  Tragedy,  a  serious,  dignified 
!  figure,  standing  with  her  left  foot  raised  on  a  rock,  holding 
;  in  her  right  hand  a  mask,  such  as  was  worn  by  tragedians, 

and  in  her  left  apparently  a  small  roll  of  a  part  in  a  play; 
her  long  robe  or  tunic  is  girt  under  her  breast,  and  falls  in 
wide  folds;  from  her  shoulder  a  mantle 
or  peplos  falls  carelessly.  In  other  cases 
she  wears  a  diadem  or  a  wreath  of 
cypress,  and  holds  a  short  sword  or  a 
club  in  her  hand. 

3.  Thalia,  the  muse  of  Comedy  and 
Burlesque,  standing,  clad  in  a  robe  or 
tunic,  over  which  is  a  mantle,  with  a 
fringe,  thrown  over  the  left  shoulder, 
and  wrapped  round  the  legs,  leaving 
the  right  arm  free;  in  her  right  hand 
is  a  shepherd^ s  crook,  in  the  other  a 
mask,  such  as  was  worn  by  actors  in 
the  Satyric  plays. 

4.  Calliope,  the  muse  of  Heroic 
Poems,  and  looked  on  as  the  chief  of 
the  Muses,  on  which  account  she  some¬ 
times  appears  as  their  representative; 
seated,  holding  a  writing  tablet  and  a 
stylus.  In  other  cases  she  is  standing,  crowned  with  a  wreath, 
and  holding  a  manuscript  roll  in  her  hand,  or  a  pipe  (tuba) 
round  which  a  branch  of  laurel  is  twined. 

5.  Urania,  the  muse  of  Astronomy,  seated  beside  a  globe, 
holding  a  pair  of  compasses  in  one  hand,  while  with  the  other 
she  points  upward  toward  the  heavens.  In  other  cases  she 
wears  a  crown  of  stars,  and  holds  a  lyre,  her  eyes  turned 
toward  the  stars,  and  pointing  out  at  the  same  time  something 
on  a  globe  beside  her. 


m 

S 


180 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


6.  Euterpe,  the  muse  of  the  art  of  Music,  the  giver 
of  pleasure,^’  as  her  name  implies,  standing,  playing  on  a 
double  flute.  In  other  cases  she  plays  on  other  instru¬ 
ments. 

7.  Polyhymnia,  or  Polymnia,  the  muse  of  Song  and  of 
Oratory,  her  name  signifying  rich  in  song,^^  was  also  de¬ 
scribed  as  the  inventor  of  myths,  on  which  account  she  was 
represented  in  the  attitude  of  contemplation,  with  one  finger 

raised  to  her  lips;  on  her  head  a  laurel 
wreath.  In  other  cases  she  appears 
in  a  quiet,  attentive,  observant  mood, 
leaning  forward  on  a  pillar,  her  arms 
concealed  under  her  drapery,  and 
wearing  at  times  a  veil,  to  indicate 
the  hidden  truths  within  the  myths, 
while  her  posture  was  intended  to  in¬ 
dicate  the  process  of  revolving  the 
meaning  of  them.  For  this  reason 
she  was  also  viewed  as  the  goddess 
of  serious  and  sacred  poems  and 
hymns. 

8.  Erato,  the  muse  of  Love  and 
Marriage  Songs,  wearing  a  wreath, 
and  playing  on  a  large  lyre  with  many 
strings.  In  other  cases  she  appears 
holding  a  lyre  by  her  side  in  one 
hand,  and  in  the  other  an  arrow  or  a  wreath  of  myrtle  and 
roses. 

9.  Terpsichore,  the  muse  of  Dancing,  wearing  a  wreath, 
and  playing  on  a  lyre.  At  other  times  she  holds  cym¬ 
bals,  has  her  robe  girt  up,  and  appears  in  the  attitude  of 
dancing. 

The  mother  of  the  Muses  was  called,  as  has  already  been 
stated,  Mnemosyne,  that  is,  Memory,  and  especially  the 
memory  or  recollection  of  great  events,  such  as  the  war  with 
the  Titans,  that  was  said  to  have  occurred  at  the  commence- 


IBIS. 


181 


merit  of  the  world^s  history,  and  must  continue  to  occur  until 
the  universe  is  brought  into  perfect  harmony.  In  later  times 
she  came  to  be  viewed  mereb" 
dess  of  memory,  and  worship] 
with  the  Muses. 

In  art  she  is  represented 
in  a  quiet,  thoughtful  attitr 
arms  under  her  drapery,  to 


the  silent  mysterious  action  of  mem 
ory. 


It  was  the  custom  of  the  Muses  to 
play  under  the  leadership  of  Apollo, 
at  the  banquets  and  marriage  cere¬ 
monies  among  the  gods,  while  the 
Horae,  Charites  (Graces),  Aphrodite, 
and  other  deities  given  to  mirth  and 
gaiety,  danced.  In  this  fashion  the 
ancients  represented  under  the  form  of 
persons  the  union  of  joy,  music,  poetry, 
dance,  and  merriment. 


fi 


Terpsichore. 


IRIS, 


Goddess  of  the  rainbow,  was  a  daughter  of  Thaumas  and 
Electra,  a  grand-daughter  of  Oceanus  and  Gaea,  and  a 
sister  of  the  Harpies.  As  messenger  of  Hera  and  Zeus,  she 
lived  among  the  other  deities  of  Olympus,  which  she  only 
left  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  the  divine  commands  to 
mankind,  by  whom  she  was  looked  on  as  a  guide  and  adviser. 
She  travelled  with  the  speed  of  wind  always,  from  one  end 
of  the  world  to  the  other,  could  penetrate  to  the  bottom  of 
the  sea,  or  to  the  Styx,  and  in  this  respect  formed  a  female 
counterpart  of  Hermes  (Mercury)  in  his  capacity  of  messen¬ 
ger  of  the  gods,  she  holding  much  the  same  position  toward 
Hera  as  he  did  toward  Zeus. 

It  was  Iris,  the  ancients  believed,  who  charged  the  clouds 


182 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


with  water  from  lakes  and  rivers,  in  order  that  they  might 
let  it  fall  again  upon  the  earth  in  gentle  fertilizing  showers; 

and,  accordingly,  when  her  bow 
appeared  in  the  clouds  the 
farmer  welcomed  it  as  a  sign 
of  rain  to  quicken  his  fields, 
and  gladly  paid  honors  to  the 
goddess  whose  presence  he  rec¬ 
ognized  in  the  rainbow  with  its 
splendid  colors. 

She  was  represented  as  a 
beautiful  virgin  with  wings  of 
varied  hue,  in  robes  of  bright 
colors,  and  riding  on  a  rain¬ 
bow;  at  other  times  with  a 
nimbus  on  her  head,  in  which 
the  colors  of  the  rainbow  were 
reflected. 

Our  figure  represents  her 
standing,  clad  in  a  long  robe, 
holding  in  one  hand  a  herald’s  staff,  such  as  Hermes  also 
carries  (eaduceus),  and  in  the  other  a  helmet. 


AEOLUS 

Was  the  son  of  a  king  named  Hippotes,  and  lived  on  one  of 
the  abrupt  rocky  Lipara  islands  close  to  Sicily,  along  with 
his  offspring,  six  sons  and  six  daughters,  who  were  married 
in  pairs,  and  made  life  merry  with  their  music.  In  the 
caves  of  the  island  were  imprisoned  the  winds,  Aeolus  letting 
them  out  in  gales,  or  in  a  soft  favoring  breeze,  at  the  will  of 
the  higher  gods. 

The  idea  of  the  winds  being  thus  kept  in  a  cavern  under 
the  restraint  of  a  divine  person,  appears  to  have  suggested 
itself  to  the  ancients  from  the  strong  draught  that  is  felt  on 


THE  WIND-GODS. 


183 


entering  a  cave  or  subterraneous  passage;  but  whether  the 
belief  in  the  existence  of  such  a  personage  reached  back  to 
primitive  times,  when  mankind  lived  to  a  great  extent  in 
places  of  that  kind,  is  not  certain.  The  influence  of  Aeolus 
was  felt  both  genially  and  the  reverse  on  land  and  on  sea,  but 
principally  on  sea,  which  he  could  more  readily  command 
from  the  island  where  he  lived. 

As  an  instance  of  his  kindliness  to  travellers  by  sea,  we 
may  here  mention  his  hospitable  reception  of  Odysseus 
(Ulysses)  on  that  errant  homeward  voyage  of  his.  On  de¬ 
parting,  Aeolus  gave  him  a  great  bag  containing  all  the  con¬ 
trary  winds,  putting  it  on  board  the  ship,  so  that  he  might 
reach  Ithaca  with  a  fair  wind.  Odysseus  himself  remained 
steadily  and  anxiously  at  the  helm  for  several  days,  but  his 
native  land  coming  at  length  in  sight,  he  sank  overpowered 
with  sleep.  His  followers  observing  this  proceeded  to  indulge 
their  curiosity  to  see  the  costly  presents  which  they  fancied  : 
the  bag  contained,  opened  it,  and  out  burst  the  imprisoned  a 
wind  with  a  roar  and  a  force  that  drove  the  ship  again  far  f 
out  of  her  course. 

But  besides  this  conception  of  the  winds  as  mere  elements  rj 
in  the  hands  of  Aeolus,  there  was  another  which  represented 
them  as  each  personified  by  a  separate  divine  being,  living 
apart,  and  being  directly  under  the  control  of  Zeus  and 

Poseidon.  ^ 

#1 

THE  WIND-GODS,  'fS 

<1 

Of  whom  the  principal  were  Boreas,  the  north  wind,  Eurus, 
the  east  wind,  Notus,  the  south  wind,  and  Zephyrus,  the 
west  wind,  were,  as  we  have  previously  said,  the  offspring  of 
Eos  and  Astraeus,  the  parentage  of  fierce,  destructive  winds* 
being  assigned  to  Typhon.  According  to  another  report, 
neither  the  origin  nor  the  number  of  the  deities  of  the  winds 
was  known,  the  prevalence  in  particular  districts  of  winds 
blowing  from  this  or  that  point  between  the  four  chief  quar- 


s«nii 


184 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


ters,  naturally  giving  rise  to  a  set  of  personifications  such  as 
northwest  wind,  southwest  wind,  and  others. 

The  character  and  appearance  ascribed  to  each  of  these 
deities  was,  as  usual  in  Greek  mythology,  such  as  was  sug¬ 
gested  by  the  phenomena  of  each  wind— as,  for  example,  the 
strength  and  fury  of  the  north  wind,  or  the  genial  warmth 
of  the  southwest.  Some  were  thought  to  be  male,  some 
female,  and  all  winged.  Eurus,  who  brought  warmth  and 
rain  from  the  east,  was  represented  holding  a  vase  inverted, 


-  wafted  home  the  ships  as  they  neared  the  harbor  of  Piraeus 

,it  at  -A.thens,  held  the  ornament  from  a  ship^s  stern  in  her 
■m  hands.  Zephyrus,  coming  from  the  warm,  mild  west,  was 
*  ^^^htly  clad,  and  carried  a  quantity  of  flowers  in  his  scarf. 
Apeliotes,  the  southeast  wind,  carried  fruits  of  many  kinds, 
wore  boots,  and  was  not  so  lightly  clad  as  the  last  mentioned. 

So  they  were  represented  on  the  ''  Tower  of  the  Winds''  at 
Athens. 

Though  the  winds  were  looked  on  as  each  under  the  con- 


EOS,  OR  AURORA:  LUCIFER. 


185 


trol  of  a  separate  divine  being,  whose  favor  it  was  necessary 
to  retain  by  sacrifice,  no  particular  story  or  myth  is  told  of 
any  one  of  these  persons  excepting  Boreas  and  Zephyrus,  the 
rival  lovers  of  Chloris  (Flora),  Zephyrus  being  the  success¬ 
ful  suitor.  Boreas  carried  off,  it  was  said,  Orithyia,  the 
beautiful  daughter  of  Cecrops,  king  of  Attica;  and  remem¬ 
bering  this,  the  Athenians  in  their  distress,  when  the  Persians 
advanced  the  first  time  against  Greece,  called  upon  him  for 
aid,  which  he  rendered  by  sending  a  terrible  north  wind, 
which  overtook  the  Persian  fleet  near  the  promontory  of 
Athos,  scattering  and  largely  destroying  it.  From  that  time 
the  Athenians  had  an  altar  to  him,  and  offered  sacrifice  at  it 
for  their  preservation. 

The  scene  of  Boreas  carrying  off  Orithyia  is  represented 
on  a  beautiful  bronze  relief  found  at  Calymna,  and  now  in 
the  British  Museum.  The  wind-god  is  powerful  in  form, 
bearded,  but  still  young,  and  wearing  thick,  high  boots,  and 
a  mantle  thrown  across  his  body. 


EOS,  OB  AUBOBA:  LUCIFEB. 

Eos  was  a  daughter  of  the  Titan  pair,  Theia  and  Hyper¬ 
ion;  the  latter,  to  judge  from  the  meaning  of  his  name. 


having  been  at  one  time  god  of  the  sun,  who  travels  high 
above  earth.’ ^  Helios  and  Selene,  the  deities  of  sun  and 


186 


iNFEitioit  Deities. 


moon^  were  her  brother  and  sister^  while  she  herself  was  a 
personification  of  the  dawn  of  morning.  A.  fresh  wind  was 
felt  at  her  approach,  the  morning  star  still  lingered  in  the 
sky,  and  ruddy  beams  ''  shot  the  orient  through  with  gold/' 
and  because  these  beams  appeared  like  outspread  fingers,  she 
was  called  ''  rosy-fiugered  Morn."  The  star  and  the  winds 
of  the  morning,  Zephyrus,  Boreas,  Notus,  and  Eurus,  were 
ner  offspring  by  Astraeus,  the  god  of  starlight.  The  moon 
and  the  other  stars  vanished  gradually  as  she  advanced,  but 
Helios  followed  her  closely.  To  poets  she  seemed  to  lift  the 


C-  veil  of  night  with  rose-tinted  fingers,  and  to  rise  in  the  east 
...  out  of  the  ocean  in  a  car  with  four  white  steeds,  shedding 
light  upon  the  earth.  Others  imagined  her  coming  riding 
J;  on  the  winged  horse,  Pegasus,  which  Zeus  had  given  her 
after  Bellerophon’s  failure  to  ride  on  it  up  to  Olympus. 

She  loved  all  fresh  young  life,  and  showed  special  favor  to 
those^  persons  whose  active  spirit  led  them  abroad  in  the 
morning  to  hunt  or  to  make  war.  When  struck  with  the 
beauty  of  a  youth  she  would  carry  him  off,  and  obtain  im¬ 
mortal  life  for  him,  as  she  did  with  Cleitus,  Orion,  Cepha- 


EOS,  OB  AURORA:  LUCIFER.  187 

lus,  and  Tithonus.  So  it  appeared  to  the  Greeks,  who 
recognized  in  the  brief  duration  of  the  freshness  and  glow 
of  morning  a  comparison  with  the  early  death  of  promising 
and  beautiful  youth,  and  from  the  comparison  proceeded  to 
construct  a  myth  which  should  trace  both  to  the  same  divine 
cause. 

Tithonus  became  her  husband,  and  she  lived  with  him 
pleasantly  beside  the  Ocean  us  so  long  as  his  youth  and  beauty 
lasted.  Unfortunately,  in  obtaining  immortality  for  him 
from  Zeus,  she  had  omitted  to  add  to  her  request,  ^^and 
eternal  youth.’’  When  white  hairs  showed  themselves  on 


The  Death  of  Procris. 


his  head  she  was  not  the  same  to  him  as  before,  though  still 
supplying  him  with  ambrosia  and  fine  raiment.  But  he 
became  quite  helpless  at  last,  and,  to  avoid  the  sight  of  his 
descrepitude,  she  shut  him  up  in  a  chamber,  where  only  his 
voice  was  heard  like  the  chirp  of  a  grasshopper,  into  which 
creature,  it  was  said,  he  became  transformed.  By  the  story 
of  Tithonus  we  would  understand  day,  in  its  eternally  return¬ 
ing  course,  fresh  and  beautiful  at  dawn,  wearied  and  worn  at 
the  close. 

Of  Cephalus  it  is  said  that  from  love  to  his  wife,  Procris, 
he  resolutely  withstood  the  advances  of  Aura,  the  goddess  of 


1#  ■ 

t 

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188  INFERIOR  DEITIES. 

the  morning  wind,  and  that  the  latter  in  revenge  stirred  up 
discord  between  him  and  his  wife.  Another  version  of  the 
story  is,  that  Aura  caused  him  to  kill  his  wife  by  mistake 
when  out  on  the  chase.  Procris,  it  would  seem,  jealous  | 
of  her  husband’s  meetings  with  the  goddess,  had  secreted  * 
herself  in  a  thicket  to  watch  them^  but  happening  to  stir 
Cephalus  caught  the  noise,  and  suspecting  it  to  be  caused 

by  some  lurking  animal,  hurled  his  spear,  and  slew  his 
wife. 

Eos  and  Tithonus  had  two  sons,  Memnon  and  Emathion, 
the  former  widely  celebrated  for  his  beauty,  and  mourned  for  I 
his  early  death  at  the  hands  of  Achilles.  His  dead  body  was  i 
carried  by  his  weeping  mother  to  Aethiopia;  and  at  Thebes, 
in  Egypt,  she  erected  in  his  memory,  so  the  story  goes,  that 
wonderful  monument  which,  when  the  first  rays  of  the  morn¬ 
ing  sun  touched  it,  gave  forth  a  sound  like  the  snapping  of 
a  harp-string. 

In  art  she  was  represented  as  a  spirited  maiden,  with  large 
wings,  clad  in  robes  of  dazzling  white  and  purple,  a  star  or 
cap  on  her  hpad,  a  torch  in  her  hand,  and  driving  in  a  chariot 
with  four  horses,  or  riding  on  Pegasus;  at  other  times  she 
appeared  floating  in  the  air,  and  pouring  morning  dew  from 
a  vessel  down  to  the  earth. 

^  In  our  illustration  (p.  185)  she  is  figured  driving  a  quad¬ 
riga  with  great  speed,  as  is  indicated  by  the  flow  of  her  drapery. 
The  bull’s  head  signifies  that  the  moon  and  stars  are  still  in 
the  sky.  Lucifer  precedes  her  with  a  torch.  Flowers  and 
plants,  quickened  by  her  dew,  wake  and  raise  their  heads. 

In  the  British  Museum  is  a  beautiful  example  of  early 
gem  engraving,  representing  a  head  of  her. 

In  other  representations  we  find  Hermes  advancing  before 
her,  a  duty  which  Lucifer,  the  morning  star,  and  a  favorite 
of  Aphrodite  and  Hera  also,  most  usually  performs. 


EROS,  OR  AMOR:  PSYCHE. 


189 


EROS,  OR  AMOR:  PSYCHE. 

Amor,  or  Cupido,  as  he  was  also  called,  was  not,  it  should 
be  noticed,  a  native  Roman  deity,  but  had  been  introduced 
from  the  mythology  of  the  Greeks  by  poets,  his  name  being 


Cupid  and  Psyche. 

a  direct  translation  of  the  Greek  Eros.  It  should  further  be 
observed  that  this  translation  presents  an  instance  of  the 
difference  in  character  of  these  two  ancient  races:  the  word 


190 


INFERIOR  DEITIES, 


m  i.'fin' 

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C.  3 

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i« 'it 

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If 

f 


for  among  the  Greeks  being  feminine,  while  its 

Koman  equivalent  was  masculine. 

We  must  at  the  outset  distinguish  the  double  character  of 
Eros;  first,  as  we  find  him  described  taking  part  at  the  crea¬ 
tion  of  the  world  out  of  Chaos,  and  secondly,  as  a  mere  god 
of  love,  a  son  of  Aphrodite  and  Zeus,  or  Ares,  as  some  said, 
or  even  of  Uranus.  In  the  former  phase  of  his  character 
he  is  represented  as  sorting  the  shapeless  mass  of  the  world, 
with  its  conflicting  elements,  into  order  and-  harmony,  dis¬ 
pelling  confusion,  uniting  hitherto  jarring  forces,  and  making  i 
productive  what  was  barren  before.  In  the  latter  phase  he  ' 
is  the  deity  who  sways  the  passions  of  the  heart  both  of  gods  j 
and  men.  In  the  one  case  he  was  conceived  as  having 
existed  before  the  other  gods,  as  being  the  god  of  that  love 
wliich  operates  in  nature;  and  in  the  other  case  as  the  young-  ■ 
est  born  of  them  all,  the  god  of  that  love  which  holds  the  \ 
hearts  of  men  in  tyranny.  It  seems  to  have  been  as  a  com¬ 
bination  of  both  characters  that  Pliidias*  represented  him  at 
the  birth  of  Aphrodite,  receiving  her  as  she  rose  out  of  the 
sea,  in  presence  of  the  assembled  deities  of  Olympus.  I 

The  chief  and  oldest  centre  of  his  worship  was  Thespiae,  ! 
in  Boeotia,  where  a  festival  called  Erotidia  was  celebrated  in  i 
his  honor,  and  continued  to  be  a  source  of  attraction  down  ; 
to  Roman  times.  Thence  his  worship  spread  to  Sparta, 
Athens,  Samos,  and  Crete,  the  Spartans  and  Cretans  having 
a  custom  of  sacrificing  to  him  previous  to  the  commencement 
of  a  battle,  in  the  belief  that  he  was  also  the  god  of  that  ; 
|)atriotism  or  love  of  country  which  best  unites  an  army.  In 

Athens  there  was  an  altar  to  him  and  his  counterpart,  An- 
teros. 

In  early  times  his  worshippers  at  Thespiae  were  content 
with  a  rude  stone  as  an  image.  But  in  later  times,  and  in 
contrast  with  this,  we  find  him  the  most  attractive  figure 
among  the  works  of  the  second  Attic  school  of  sculptors,  the 


*  On  the  base  of  the  statue  of  Zeus  at  Olympia. 


EROS,  OR  AMOR:  PSYCHE. 


191 


school  of  Scopas  and  Praxiteles,*  both  of  whom  directed 
their  splendid  talents  to  adding  fresh  grace  and  beauty  to 


Psyche  at  the  Couch  of  Cupid. 


his  form.  While  artists  rivalled  each  other  to  this  end,  poets 
were  no  less  zealous  in  singing  his  p'  aises.  In  daily  life  his 

*  The  famous  statue  of  him  by  Praxiteles  was  afterward  carried  off  to  Rome  and 
IS  known  to  us  through  copies  of  it  made  by  other  sculptors. 

Murray — 15 


s 


192 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


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influence  became  more  generally  acknowledged.  In  the! 
gymnasia  where  the  youth  practised  athletics  his  statue  was- 
set  up  between  Hermes  and  Hercules;  for  he  was  then  repre¬ 
sented  as  lithe  of  limb  and  graceful  of  form — a  model  of 
ripening  youth.  As  time  went  on,  however,  his  figure  be¬ 
came  more  and  more  that  of  the  chubby  boy  who  plays  all 
manner  of  tricks  with  the  hearts  of  men,  with  which  we  are 
most  familiar.  He  was  supposed  to  exercise  his  influence 
over  the  hearts  of  deities  as  well;  and  to  show  him  in  this 
light,  he  was  represented  at  times  now  with  the  symbol  of 
one  god,  now  of  another. 

To  the  later  age  of  Hellenistic  and  Roman  poetry  and  art ; 
belongs  the  touching  story  of  Psyche — a  personification,  as 
she  appears  to  have  been,  of  a  soul  filled-  with  the  passion 
of  love,  and  as  such  conceived  under  the  form  of  a  small 
winged  maiden,  or,  at  other  times,  as  a  butterfly  which  bore 
the  same  name.  Psyche,  the  story  runs,  was  a  king’s 
daughter,  and  most  beautiful.  The  fame  of  her  beauty , 
awoke  the  jealousy  of  Aphrodite,  who  to  get  rid  of  her  rival 
charged  her  son  Cupid  to  visit  the  princess,  and  inspire  her 
with  love  for  some  common  man.  Cupid  obeyed  so  far  as 
to  pay  the  visit,  but  being  himself  struck  with  the  maiden’s 
beauty,  carried  her  off  to  a  fairy  palace  in  a  vale  of  paradise, 
where  they  spent  happy  hours  together,  with  only  this  draw¬ 
back,  that  she  was  not  permitted  to  look  upon  her  lover  with 
her  mortal  eyes.  Even  this  she  would  not  have  considered 
a  drawback,  had  not  her  envious  sisters  stirred  up  her  curi¬ 
osity  in  the  matter.  Yielding  to  their  temptation,  she  took 
one  night  a  lamp,  and  stole  into  the  chamber  where  the  god 
lay  asleep.  Alarmed  at  the  discovery  she  had  made,  she  let 
a  drop  of  hot  oil  fall  upon  his  shoulder.  He  awoke,  and 
charging  her  with  disobedience  to  his  express  command,  left 
her  alone  to  her  despair.  She  searched  for  him  everywhere 
in  vain,  finding  her  way  at  last  to  the  palace  of  Aphrodite, 
who,  after  subjecting  her  to  menial  service  of  various  kinds, 
finally  ordered  her  to  go  down  to  the  lower  world,  and  fetch 


V 


APHRODITE,  OR  VENUS 


/r*  •  ■»'.! 


194 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


I*  '  , 

t  SI' 

«.'C 
f  > « 

l*rWw ' 
IkKniM  I 

c»:! 

» , 
•»rk1 

••rr'l 

c:rl 

Q;l 


a  box  of  beauty’s  ointment  from  Persephone.  This  most 
painful  task  she  accomplished;  but,  on  opening  the  box,  sank 
overpowered  by  its  odor.  Cupid  could  resist  no  longer,  ran 
to  her  help,  and  brought  her  back  to  life.  The  anger  of 
Aphrodite  was  appeased,  and  the  marriage  of  Cupid  and 
Psyche  was  forthwith  celebrated  with  great  rejoicings,  in 
presence  of  the  higher  gods.  Psyche  obtaining  immortality. 

The  purpose  of  the  story  is  obviously  to  illustrate  the  three 
stages  in  the  existence  of  a  soul  —  its  pre-existence  in  a 
blessed  state,  its  existence  on  earth  with  its  trials  and  anguish, 
and  its  future  state  of  happy  immortality. 

The  engraving  represents  the  two  embracing  tenderly. 
Eros  has  laid  aside  his  bow  and  quiver,  with  its  dangerous 
arrows;  roses  are  strewn  on  the  ground  before  them,  and  a 
shoot  of  a  rose-tree  grows  behind  to  symbolize  the  sweetness 
and  beauty  of  young  love. 

In  works  of  art  he  is  frequently  to  be  seen  in  company  of 
his  mother  Aphrodite,  or  playing  with  the  Muses  and  Graces, 
or  struggling  with  his  opposite  Anteros,  or  accompanied  by 
Pothos,  whose  name,  like  the  Eoman  Cupido,  signifies  a 
^Mesire  of  love” — that  is,  a  ^Mesire  of  union  in  love,' 
and  Himeros,  a  soft  yearning  for  love.”  In  later  times 
artists  often  surrounded  Aphrodite,  and  occasionally  also 
Dionysus,  with  troops  of  little  winged  figures  of  children, 
which  we  call  Erotes  or  Amorettes. 

The  word  Psyche,  signifying  originally  the  soul,”  came 
afterward  to  mean  also  a  '' butterfly  ”— a  likeness  being 
observed  between  the  manner  in  which  a  soul  and  a  but¬ 
terfly,  freed  from  the  body  or  chrysalis  in  which  they  have 
been  confined  on  earth,  rise  on  wing,  and  waft  themselves  in 
the  light.  The  flame  of  love  which  often  scorched  the  soul 
was  compared  with  the  torch  which  attracts  the  butterfly  to 
its  doom.  When  this  happened,  Eros  turned  away  his  face 
and  wept. 


HYMEN,  OR  HYMENAEUS. 


195 


HYMEN,  OR  HYMENAEUS, 

Was  worshipped  as  the  god  of  marriage  both  by  the  Greeks 
and  the  Romans.  His  origin  is  variously  stated  to  have 
been  now  from  Apollo  and  Calliope,  now  from  Dionysus  and 
Aphrodite,  while  at  other  times  he  is  said  to  have  been  by 
birth  a  mortal,  and  afterward  deified.  Properly  speaking, 
he  is  a  personification  of  the  marriage  song.  There  are  vari¬ 
ous  accounts  of  his  life  and  deification,  and  among  them  the 
following  : 

T  oung,  and  of  a  soft  delicate  beauty,  so  that  he  might  be 
mistaken  for  a  girl.  Hymen  loved  a  young  Athenian  maiden, 
whom,  however,  because  of  his  poverty,  he  could  not  hope 
to  obtain  for  his  wife.  To  be  near  her,  he  once  joined  a 
troop  of  maidens,  among  whom  she  was  engaged  in  celebrat¬ 
ing  a  festival  to  Demeter  at  Eleusis.  Suddenly  a  band  of 
robbers  appeared  from  a  hiding-place,  carried  the  maidens  off 
to  their  ship,  and  set  out  with  the  intention  of  selling  them 
as  slaves  in  some  distant  country.  But  landing  on  the  way 
on  a  dreary  island,  the  robbers  indulged  so  copiously  in  wine 
that  they  all  fell  into  deep  slumber.  Hymen,  seizing  the 
opportunity,  incited  his  fellow-captives  to  take  the  weapons 
from  the  robbers  and  slay  them  all,  which  they  did.  There¬ 
upon  he  set  off  to  Athens  in  the  ship,  and  finding  the  people 
there  in  great  distress,  presented  himself  to  the  parents  of 
the  maiden  he  loved,  and  undertook  to  bring  her  back  un¬ 
harmed  on  condition  of  their  giving  her  to  him  as  his  wife. 
This  was  readily  promised.  Finding  a  crew  he  at  once  set 
sail  for  the  island,  and  speedily  returned  with  all  the  maidens 
on  board.  For  this  he  obtained  the  title  of  Thalassius,  as 
well  as  the  wife  that  had  been  promised  him.  So  happy  was 
his  wedded  life  that  at  marriage  ceremonies  generally  his 
name  was  on  the  lips  of  all  the  company,  and  he  himself  in 
course  of  time  came  to  be  looked  on  as  a  god,  and  the  founder 
and  protector  of  marriage  rights.  At  bridal  festivities  a 


196 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


sacrifice  was  offered  to  him,  festal  songs  were  sung,  and  flow¬ 
ers  and  wreaths  strewn. 


Hymen,  or  Hymenaeug, 


THE  GHARITES,  OB  GRACES, 


197 


As  a  deity  he  was  placed  among  the  playmates  of  Eros 
and  in  the  company  of  Aphrodite.  His  home,  it  was  be¬ 
lieved,  was  among  the  Muses  on  Mount  Helicon  in  Boeotia. 


There  is  a  story  which  says  that  he  lost  his  voice  and  his  life 


in  singing  the  marriage  song  of  Dionysus  and  Ariadne  or 
Althaea.  He  is  always  a  picture  of  youthful  beauty,  and  of 
the  charms  of  love  and  song. 

Hymen  was  represented  as  a  beautiful  youth  with  a  mantle 
of  a  golden  color — sonietimes  nude — and  carrying  a  torch. 


THE  CHABITES,  OR  GRACES, 


Were  looked  upon  by  the  Greeks  as  the  goddesses  of  the 
gracefulness  and  the  charms  of  beauty,  and  of  cheerful 
amusement,  which  were  observed  both  in  nature  and  in  the 
intercourse  with  men.  As  such. 


seem  to  have  given  rise  in  very  early  times  to  a  belief  in  the 
existence  of  certain  goddesses  at  first  simply  as  guardians 


of  the  vernal  sweetness  and  beauty  of  nature,  and  afterward 
as  the  friends  and  protectors  of  everything  graceful  and 


beautiful — an  idea  which  the  poets  further  developed. 


198 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


Pindar,  in  one  of  his  most  delightful  songs  of  victory,  sing¬ 
ing  of  the  Graces,  associates  with  them  the  source  of  decorum, 
of  purity  and  happiness  in  life,  of  good  will,  beneficence  and 
gratitude  among  men. 

They  were  represented  as  beautiful  young  modest  maidens, 
winning  and  charming,  always  dancing,  singing,  and  run¬ 
ning,  or  bathing  in  fountains,  or  decking  themselves  with 
early  flowers,  especially  with  roses;  for  the  rose  was  sacred 
to  them,  as  well  as  to  Aphrodite  (Venus),  in  whose  com¬ 
pany,  and  doing  her  many  a  service,  according  to  the  myth, 
they  were  usually  to  be  found.  Their  home  was  among  the 
Muses  in  the  neighborhood  of  Olympus,  where  they  often 
appeared  as  companions  of  Aphrodite,  and  danced  before  the 
other  deities. 

Their  origin  is  variously  stated — now  Zeus  and  Eurynome, 
an  Oceanid,  being  assigned  as  their  parents,  now  Dionysus 
and  Aphrodite.  There  is  a  difference  also  in  the  statements 
of  their  names  and  number.  From  Orchomenus,  it  would 
seem,  come  Aglaea,  Euphrosyne,  and  Thalia.  In  Sparta 
and  in  Athens  there  were  only  two,  the  pair  worshipped  in 
the  former  town  being  called  Cleta  (clang)  and  Phaenna 
(glimmer),  in  the  latter  town,  Auxo  and  Hegemone.  In 
the  Iliad  a  whole  race  of  them  is  mentioned,  old  and  young 
— the  youngest  being  Pasithea.  According  to  another  ac¬ 
count,  the  youngest  was  Aglaea,  the  wife  of  Hephaestus 
(Vulcan),  the  object  in  assigning  him  such  a  wife  being 
probably  to  indicate  the  perfect  beauty  of  the  works  of  art 
produced  by  that  god.  Beauty  and  sweetness,  the  best  charm 
of  poetry,  came  from  the  Graces.  Athene  (Minerva)  called 
in  their  aid  in  the  serious  business  of  life  over  which  she 
presided,  because  without  gracefulness  all  labor  was  in  vain, 
the  Greeks  believed.  They  assisted  Hermes  (Mercury)  in 
his  capacity  as  god  of  oratory.  From  these  instances  of 
their  activity  it  will  be  seen  how  highly  the  Greeks  prized 
this  quality  of  gracefulness. 

In  Greece  there  was  a  number  of  temples  and  beautiful 


HEBE.  199 

groups  of  statuary  in  their  honor,  sometimes  devoted  to  them 
alone,  sometimes  to  them  in  common  with  other  deities;  as, 
for  example.  Aphrodite,  Apollo,  and  the  Muses.  Annual 
festivals,  called  Charitesia,  accompanied  with  games,  music, 
and  dance,  were  held  in  their  honor.  It  was  the  custom  also 
to  call  upon  them  in  taking  an  oath,  and  at  banquets  the  first 
cup  of  wine  was  offered  to  them. 

In  early  times  they  were  represented  in  art  as  draped 
figures,  but  in  later  times  as  quite  nude,  or  but  sparingly 
clothed,  and  occupied  in  a  dance.  Their  attributes  were  the 
rose,  the  myrtle,  and  dice,  as  a  symbol  of  cheerful  amuse¬ 
ment.  At  other  times  they  hold  apples  or  perfume-vases,  or 
ears  of  corn,  or  heads  of  poppies,  or  musical  instruments — 
such  as  the  lyre,  flute,  and  syrinx. 


PITIIO,  OR  SUADA, 

Or  Suadela,  was  the  goddess  of  persuasion,  and,  like  the 
Graces,  formed  part  of  the  escort  of  Aphrodite,  whose 
daughter  she  was  said  to  be. 

Her  worship,  along  with  Aphrodite,  was  introduced  into 
Athens  by  Theseus,  at  the  time  when  he  succeeded  in  per¬ 
suading  the  various  isolated  tribes  inhabiting  Attica  to  unite 
into  one  people,  with  Athens  as  their  chief  town.  But  she 
had  temples  in  other  places  also,  and  was  looked  on  as  a  deity 
to  whose  influence  much  was  due. 


HEBE, 

Or  Ganymeda,  or  Dia,  as  she  was  called  in  the  vine-growing 
districts  of  Phlius,  where  she  was  worshipped  as  the  prin¬ 
cipal  deity,  was  daughter  of  Zeus  and  Hera,  and  was  the 
goddess  of  youth,  herself  remaining  always  young,  and 
warding  off  age,  like  the  other  deities,  by  means  of  nectar 


200 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


and  ambrosia.  Her  name  among  the  Romans  was  Juventas. 
In  Olympus  she  held  the  office  of  cup-bearer  to  the  gods,  for 

which  it  is  supposed  that  she 
was  peculiarly  adapted,  first, 
because  of  her  association 
with  the  vine-growers  of 
Phlius,  and,  secondly,  because 
she  was  the  youngest  daugli- 
ter  of  the  regal  pair  of  Olym¬ 
pus,  and  as  such,  on  the 
analogy  of  human  arrange¬ 
ments,  would  be  expected 
to  wait  upon  the  divine 


.furt 

D:.!l 


Ui/  (I 

CJIk.  * 

Vb-  |i 


irs 

'IV  II 

ifi; 

I* 


guests,  as  Briseis  did  on  Achilles, 
or  Hippodamia  on  Oenomaus,  or 
as,  in  real  life,  Melissa,  the 
daughter  of  Procles,  king  of 
Epidaurns,  poured  out  wine  for 
her  father’s  men  with  a  grace 
which  captivated  Periander.  The 
difficulty  of  explaining  how  Hebe 
and  Ganymedes  would  both  hold 
the  same  office  was  met  in  various 
wavs,  of  which  one  was  to  assume 
her  to  have  been  cup-bearer  in 
generaland  him  cup-bearer  to  Zeus  in  particular,  while  another 
supposed  that  Hebe  only  held  the  office  while  Ganymedes 
was  absent  from  Olympus  during  the  Troian  war,  so  as 


Ganymedes. 


HEBE, 


201 


to  avoid  witnessing  the  misfortunes  of  his  native  country. 
Among  her  other  duties  she  had  to  assist  Hera  to  yoke  her 


Hebe. 


car.  When  Apollo  and  the  Muses  played  she  danced  with 
other  deities.  At  times  she  accompanied  Aphrodite,  But  the 


202 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


Ml*  ' 

C  SI' 
-- 

m '  b 

aaC 

•vski 

.*rir*C; 

«:irS 

tv\\.  I)l< 

a*Mr. 

MHUlU 


«wt(»  Ml 


Lm/  mi 

Cfl».  »' 
«k>  t‘< 


«ar  Ml 


•II II 

r»i 

«i 


m 


character  in  which  she  was  best  known  and  most  admired 
was  that  of  the  bride  and  wife  of  Hercules  when  he  was 

raised  to  Olympus  in  re¬ 
ward  for  his  extraordinary 
labors  on  earth.  This 
union  of  Hebe,  the  favor¬ 
ite  daughter  of  Hera, 
with  Hercules,  whom  she 
had  constantly  persecuted 
while  on  earth,  is  unknown 
to  the  Iliad.  The  charac¬ 
ter  of  the  myth,  however, 
appears  to  point  to  a  very 
early  origin.  The  sin¬ 
gular  climax  of  events 
which  made  Hercules  the 
guest  of  the  gods  of  Olym¬ 
pus  and  the  husband  of 
the  most  attractive  of  the 
goddesses  was  a  subject 
which  was  made  the  most 
of  by  the  comic  poets. 
Representations  of  the 
marriage  procession,  and 
of  Hercules  receiving  a 
cup  of  wine  from  Hebe, 
occur  in  ancient  sculpture. 
In  other  cases  she  appears 
in  the  company  of  her 
mother  Hera,  or  alone,  or 
in  the  character  of  Gany- 
meda,  fondling  the  eagle 
of  Zeus,  or  giving  it  drink  from  a  cup,  as  occurs  not  infre¬ 
quently  on  engraved  gems. 

At  the  town  of  Phlius,  in  the  district  of  Argolis,  there 
was,  in  a  fine  grove,  a  celebrated  temple  in  her  honor,  which 


Ganymedes. 


GANYMEDES. 


203 


served  as  a  place  of  refuge  or  asylum,  in  which  slaves  who 
had  been  set  free  hung  up  their  chains  among  the  cypresses 
sacred  to  the  goddess. 

In  Rome  Juventas  had  two  sanctuaries,  one  on  the 
Capitol,  the  other  beside  the  great  race-course.  It  was  the 
custom — dating,  it  was  said,  as  far  back  as  the  time  of 
Servius  Tullius — to  pay  into  the  temple  of  Juventas  a  piece 
of  money  for  every  boy  who  lived  to  enter  the  stage  of  youth. 
When  the  young  Roman  assumed  the  toga  virilis,  he  went 
up  to  the  Capitol  and  prayed  to  Jupiter  and  Juventas.  At 
the  beginning  of  every  year  sacrifice  was  offered  to  both 
deities  in  behalf  of  the  youth  of  the  city. 


GANYMEDES 


Was  a  son  of  the  Trojan  king  Tros  and  Callirrhoe,  and  was 
therefore,  great-grandson  of  Dardanus,  the  founder  of  Troy. 
Zeus  finding  him  on  Mount  Ida,  and  admiring  his  beauty, 
carried  him  off  to  Olympus,  where  he  appears  to  have  suc¬ 
ceeded  Hebe  in  the  office  of  cup-bearer  to  the  gods. 

He  was  represented  as  possessed  of  eternal  youth  and 
extraordinary  beauty,  wearing  a  Phrygian  cap  to  indicate  his 
birthplace.  The  cup  in  his  hand  indicates  his  office  of  cup¬ 
bearer,  while  the  eagle  of  Zeus  by  his  side  shows  that  that 
office  was  performed  among  the  gods  of  Olympus. 

AESCULAPIUS 

Was,  according  to  the  most  common  version  of  the  myth,  a 
son  of  Apollo  and  Coronis,  a  daughter  of  a  Thessalian  prince 
— whence  his  title  Coronides.  At  his  birth  his  mother  died, 
struck  by  the  arrows  of  Artemis;  but  the  father  saved  the 
child,  and  taking  it  to  Mount  Pelion,  gave  it  in  keeping  to 
the  famous  physician,  Chiron,  who  carefully  instructed  the 
boy  from  early  youth  onward  in  the  mysteries  of  the  healing 


if 

)«> 

i 

•5»' 


«l 


;P 

II 

% 


204 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


art,  training  him  at  the  same  time  to  expertness  in  the  chase. 
In  the  former  the  pupil  soon  excelled  the  master,  curing  the 
most  malignant  diseases,  and  working  real  miracles  with  his 
art.  There  was  but  one  whom  his  success  could  injure,  and 
that  was  Pluto,  the  monarch  of  the  lower  world,  who  urged 
his  complaint  before  Zeus.  The  latter,  astonished  at  the 
boldness  of  a  mortal  in  thus  defying  the  decrees  of  fate, 
felled  the  great  doctor  with  a  thunderbolt,  to  the  indignation 
of  Apollo,  who  was  only  silenced  by  banishment  from  Olym¬ 
pus  for  some  time.  After  his  death  Aesculapius  was  looked 
upon  as  a  god  in  Greece;  festivals  called  Asclepiea  were  held 
in  his  honor,  and  temples  were  erected  to  him,  of  which  the 
most  celebrated  was  that  of  Epidaurus,  in  the  Peloponnesus. 
Thither  even  the  Romans  sent  ten  deputies  once,  to  inquire 
the  will  of  the  oracle  with  regard  to  a  pestilence  that  was 
raging  in  Rome.  The  deputies  had  hardly  entered  the  tem- 
j'lji  when  from  behind  the  gold-and-ivory  statue  of  the  god 

Si  £,  a  serpent  appeared,  the  symbol  of  Aesculapius,  and  followed 
them  through  the  streets  of  the  town,  on  to  the  harbor,  and 
Mgl  into  their  ship.  They  received  it  joyfully  as  a  happy  por- 
C.50I  tent,  and  set  out  homeward.  On  reaching  Italy  the  serpent 
ship,  and  proceeded  to  a  temple  of  Aesculapius,  in 
the  town  of  Antium,  but  afterward  returned  to  the  ship,  and 
Sii  did  not  leave  it  again  until,  on  going  up  the  Tiber,  it  stopped 
at  an  island.  Thereupon  the  pestilence  ceased,  and  the  temple 
was  erected  on  the  island  to  Aesculapius,  to  commemorate 
CS'  the  event.  Thither  patients  were  conveyed  and  cured — a 
...  j;  short  statement  of  the  symptoms  of  each  case,  and  the  remedy 
employed,  being  inscribed  on  tablets,  which  w*ere  hung  up  in 
5;}  the  temple,  and  were  found  to  be  a  great  boon  to  posterity. 

*11  Beside  the  serpent,  he  frequently  has  as  an  attribute  a 
«  cock — that  animal  being  also  sacred  to  him.  The  serpent, 
by  its  periodic  change  of  skin,  indicates  rejuvenescence;  the 
staff  marks  him  as  wandering  from  place  to  place,  to  give 
help;  while  the  dish,  which  he  sometimes  holds,  is  a  symbol 
of  his  healing  potions.  It  was  the  custom  of  invalids  to 


AESCULAPIUS. 


205 


sacrifice  a  cock  to  him,  as  Socrates  did  after  drinking  the 
cup  of  poison,  as  a  token  that  he  did  not  fear  death,  but 
rather  looked  upon 
it  as  a  cure  and  a 
convalescence. 

Among  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  Aesculapius, 

Hygea  is  specially 
mentioned.  The 

name  of  his  wife 
was  Epigone — ^Hhe 
soothing.’’  Like 

many  other  deities 
of  the  lower  order, 
in  common  with  he¬ 
roes,  he  was  in  after 
times  placed  as  a  star 
in  the  sky. 

In  art  the  god  of 
medicine  is  repre¬ 
sented  as  a  man  of 
years,  bearded,  gen¬ 
tle,  and  earnest, 
draped,  and  resting 
on  a  staff,  round 
which  a  serpent,  as 
an  emblem  of  reju¬ 
venescence,  is  coiled. 

His  type  of  face  re¬ 
sembles  that  of  Zeus 
so  much  that  in  the 
case  of  the  fine  mar¬ 
ble  head  in  the  Brit-  *  ,  . 

.  Aesculapius. 

ish  Museum  absolute 

agreement  has  not  yet  been  arrived  at  as  to  which  of  the 
two  gods  it  was  intended  to  represent.  The  head  in  ques- 

Murray — 16 


206 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


tion  was  found  in  the  island  of  Melos,  on  the  site  of  what 
is  supposed  to  have  been  a  temple  to  Aesculapius,  from  the 
discovery  in  the  same  place  of  a  native  tablet,  dedicated  to 
the  god  and  to  his  daughter  Hygea.  A  person  who  had 
recovered  from  a  local  illness  would  dedicate  a  sculptured 
representation  of  the  part  that  had  been  affected.  Of  such 
sculptures  there  are  a  number  of  examples  in  the  British 
Museum. 

HYGEA. 


c.  r,}' 

It 

wtnC 

•Hiller 

.•irC 

mu9. 
MHkx.  |t>' 


Mlltlb  P'- 

Ui/  r 

Cne  P‘1- 

4k-  P 


Hyg-ea  was,  as  we  have  just  said,  the  daughter  of  Aescu¬ 
lapius,  and  the  goddess  of  health.  Others  said  she  was  the 
wife  of  Aesculapius. 

She  was  represented  as  a  young,  active,  smiling  goddess,  in 
whom  Apollo  took  a  special  interest.  In  art  she  appears 
draped,  and  holding  a  serpent — which,  as  in  the  case  of  Aes¬ 
culapius,  is  the  symbol  of  health.  She  feeds  it  from  a  plate 
or  patera. 

At  other  times  she  is  figured  wearing  a  wreath  of  laurel,  or 
of  plants  known  for  their  medicinal  properties — patera  in 
her  hand,  a  serpent  coiled  round  her  arm  or  body. 


MEDITRINA 

Passed  in  Rome  for  a  sister  of  Hygea  and  a  goddess  of  health,  ^ 
a  festival  called  Meditrinalia  being  annually  held  in  her 
honor  at  the  beginning  of  October,  the  ceremony  consisting 
in  drinking  some  old  and  some  new  wine  together,  and  ex¬ 
claiming,  I  drink  the  new  and  the  old  wine — with  new  and 
old  wine  I  heal  infirmities.^’ 

The  distinction  between  the  two  goddesses  of  health  lay  in 
this,  that  while  Hygea  preserved  good  health,  Meditrina 
restored  it.  The  Greek  goddess  Jaso  appears  to  have  been 
identical  with  Meditrina. 


TELESPHORUS. 


207 


TELESPHOEUS 


Was  looked  upon  as  a  genius  or  deity  of  that  secret  and 
mysterious  vitality  which  sustains  the  convalescent.  He  was 


Hygea,  Aesculapius,  and  Telesphorus. 


represented  by  the  side  of  Aesculapius,  or  standing  betw^een 
liini  and  Hygea,  as  a  small  barefooted  boy,  wrapped  closely 
in  a  mantle,  with  a  hood  on  his  head.  This  careful  wrapping 
up  seems  to  indicate  the  secret  shrouded  nature  of  the  vital 
force  which  he  personifies,  and  may  also  have  been  meant  to 
express  the  care  in  wrapping  up  so  essential  to  convalescence. 
The  principal  centre  of  his  worship  was  on  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor. 


i 


Cl  Mi 

«■  C 

•itsJCj 

i:x^- 

c.:9i 

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«;rS.l 

D;.SI 

imr. 

MHU. 


,0C\ 


Um/  ii*i 

Cfli. 

I'*’' 


v//1: 


■<fi. 


208  INFERIOR  DEITIES. 

TYCHE,  OR  FORTUNA. 

The  idea  that  a  great  part  of  the  incidents  and  circum¬ 
stances  of  life  was  due  to  chance  had  taken  hold  of  the  mind 
in  very  early  times,  and  had  come  to  be  personified  in  the 

form  of  a  goddess  of  luck, 
whom  the  Greeks  called  Tyche 
and  the  Romans  Fortuna.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Zeus. 
The  Parcae,  or  Fates,  were 
her  sisters.  It  was  believed 
that  she  guided  the  career  of 
men,  whether  prosperously  or 
the  reverse;  and  to  show  her 
in  this  capacity  she  was 
figured  holding  a  double  rud¬ 
der  in  her  hands — the  one  to 
steer  the  barque  of  the  lucky, 
\ other  that  of  the  unlucky. 

In  later  times  she  was  repre¬ 
sented  with  wings,  or  with  her 
eyes  bound,  standing  on  a  ball 
or  a  wheel,  to  indicate  that 
Fortuna.  luck  rolls  like  a  ball,  without 

choice,  undoing  all  the  efforts 
of  this  one,  and  overwhelming  that  one  with  wealth  and 
prosperity.  Sometimes  she  was  represented  with  a  ball  on 
her  head,  or  with  a  cornucopia  in  her  hands. 

In  art  she  appears  draped,  her  arms  bare,  a  horn  of  plenty 
in  one  hand  and  a  rudder  in  the  other — the  ball  beside  the 
rudder  indicating  the  rapid  turns  of  fortune. 

Tyche  was  worshipped  in  many  places  in  Greece,  but  espe¬ 
cially  at  Athens,  where  she  was  popularly  believed  to  reside 
constantly  as  a  favoring  deity.  In  Italy  the  worship  of 
Fortuna  was  widespread,  and  a  general  festival  held  in  her 


A. 


NIKE,  OB  VICTORIA. 


209 


honor  annually  on  June  24.  Her  principal  worshippers^ 
however,  were  newly  married  women.  She  had  an  oracle  of 
considerable  fame  in  the  towns  of  Praeneste  and  Antium. 


t 

NIKE,  OR  VICTORIA, 


The  goddess  of  victory,  was  a 
daughter  of  the  giant  Pallas 
and  the  Oceanid  nymph  Styx, 
and  was  regarded  by  the 
Greeks  as  inseparable  from 
Zens  and  Athene.  Except  in 
works  of  art  of  an  early 
period,  she  was  represented 
Avith  wings.  Her  attributes 
were  a  palm-branch,  a  wreath, 
and  a  trophy  of  armor.  Some¬ 
times  she  carried  a  staff  {cadu- 
ceus)  like  that  of  Hermes 
(Mercury),  as  a  sign  of  her 
power,  and  floated  in  the  air 
Avith  outspread  Avings,  or  ap¬ 
peared  coming  down  to  earth 
— now  pointing  the  way  to  a 
victor,  now  reaching  a  wreath 
down  to  his  brow,  or  driving 
his  horses.  As  goddess  of 
victories  by  sea,  suitable  em¬ 
blems  were  assigned  to  her. 

In  art  she  appears  standing 
on  a  globe,  draped,  winged, 
holding  a  wreath  and  a  palm- 
branch.  On  coins  apparently 
struck  to  commemorate  vic¬ 
tories,  or,  as  it  sometimes  hap- 


Nike,  or  Victoria. 


210 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


pened,  success  in  the  national  games — on  engraved  gems,  j 
sculptures — figures  of  Nike  are  of  frequent  occurrence.  She 
is  also  draped,  and  of  a  youthful  appearance  :  a  favorite  : 
subject,  to  judge  from  the  repetition  of  it  on  gems,  seems  to  : 
have  been  that  in  which  she  was  represented  in  the  act  of  ^ 
sacrificing  an  ox. 

i 

EIRENE,  OR  PAX,  ;  ‘ 

The  goddess  of  peace,  was  also  represented  holding  a  palm-  ^ 
branch.  At  other  times  she  stood  with  armor  under  her  feet  | 
or  was  engaged  in  closing  the  temple  of  Janus.  In  Greece 
she  was  reckoned  one  of  the  Horae — the  most  cheerful, 
indeed,  of  the  three  sisters.  In  Pome  she  had  a  temple,  and  j| 
enjoyed  the  honor  of  an  annual  festival  on  January  30. 


FATE,  ! 

’i 

-  i' 

The  Greek  name  being  Ananke,  the  Roman  Fatum,  was  a  ! 
personification  of  the  unalterable  necessity  that  appeared  to  ^ 
control  the  career  of  mankind  and  the  events  of  the  world,  i 
Gods,  as  well  as  men,  were  subject  to  its  unchanging  decrees.  ; 
This  deity  was  the  offspring  of  Night  and  Erebus.  Her 
sentences  were  carried  out  by  the  Parcae,  who,  however,  were 
also  looked  upon  as  independent  deities  of  fate.  She  was 
represented  standing  on  a  globe,  and  holding  an  urn. 

MOERAE,  OR  PARCAE. 

In  very  early  times  the  management  of  the  world  in  regard 
to  social  matters  involving  right  and  reason  was  supposed 
to  be  directly  under  the  control  of  a  goddess  called  Moera, 
who,  in  her  own  province,  acknowledged  the  superiority  of 
no  other  deity,  not  even  of  Zeus,  the  ruler  of  the  world. 


MOERAE,  OR  PARCAE. 


211 


who,  as  supreme  god,  could  not  be  thought  to  insist  on  any¬ 


thing  unreasonable  or  wrong.  In  later  times,  we  find,  instead 


212 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


of  this  single  deity,  three  Moerae  (or  Parcae),  answering 
respectively  to  the  three  stages  of  human  life — birth,  years, 
and  death.  In  this  form,  however,  they  no  longer  retained 
the  high  position  of  superiority  to  Zeus,  but,  like  the  other 
deities,  became  subject  to  him,  thus  showing  that  he  possessed 
in  its  highest  form  the  consciousness  of  right  and  reason,  and 
was  entitled  to  be  called  Moerag-etes,  or  leader  of  the 
Moerae. 

They  were  described  as  daughters  of  Night — to  indicate 
the  darkness  and  obscurity  of  human  fate — or  of  Zeus  and 
Themis — that  is,  daughters  of  the  just  heavens.’^  Another 
story  has  it  that  it  was  they  who  united  Themis  and  Zeus 
in  marriage,  the  same  ceremony,  according  to  another  version 
of  the  myth,  having  been  performed  by  them  to  Zeus  and 
Hera.  It  was  natural  to  suppose  the  goddesses  of  fate  present 
and  taking  part  at  marriages  and  births, 
j'sj,  The  names  of  the  three  sisters  were  Clotho,  Lachesis, 

1  £  and  Atropos.  To  express  the  influence  which  thev  were 

believed  to  exercise  on 
human  life  from  birth 
to  death,  they  were 
conceived  as  occupied 
in  spinning  a  thread 
of  gold,  silver,  or 
wool;  now  tightening, 
now  slackening,  and 
at  last  cutting  it  off. 
This  occupation  was 
so  arranged  among  the 
three,  that  Clotho,  the 
youngest,  put  the  wool 
round  the  spindle, 
Lachesis  spun  it,  and  Atropos,  the  eldest,  cut  it  off  when  a 
man  had  to  die.  Tyche,  or  Fortuna,  has  been  taken  as  a 
fourth  sister,  on  account  of  the  similarity  of  her  functions. 
It  is  not,  however,  so. 


J^EMESIS. 


213 


They  were  represented  in  art  as  serious  maidens,  always 
side  by  side,  and  in  most  cases  occupied  as  we  have  men¬ 
tioned,  there  being  instances,  however,  in  which  Atropos,  the 
“  unalterable,’^  is  represented  alone. 

They  were  worshipped  very  seriously  both  in  Greece  and 
Italy  :  sacrifices  of  honey  and  flowers,  sometimes  of  ewes, 
were  offered  to  them,  while  in  Sparta  and  in  Rome  they  had 
temples  and  altars. 


NEMESIS, 

Called  also  Adrastea  and  Rhamnusia,  from  Rhamnus  in 
Attica,  the  principal  centre  of  her  worship,  was  a  personifica¬ 
tion  of  the  vengeance  which  appeared  to  overtake  every  act 
of  wrong.  She  was  the  goddess  of  punishment,  and  as  such 
a  figure  of  her  was  placed  beside  the  bench  of  the  judges. 
A  mysterious  power,  watching  over  the  propriety  of  life,  she 
was  conceived  as  shaping  the  demeanor  of  men  in  their  times 
of  prosperity,  punishing  crime,  taking  luck  away  from  the 
unworthy,  tracking  every  wrong  to  its  doer,  and  keeping 
society  in  equipoise.  She  was  represented  as  a  thoughtful, 
beautiful  figure  of  queenly  aspect,  with  a  diadem  or  crown 
on  her  head,  winged,  except  in  the  case  of  early  sculptures, 
or  driving  in  a  car  drawn  by  gryphons.  Among  her  several 
attributes  were  a  wheel,  to  indicate  the  speed  of  her  punish¬ 
ments,  a  balance,  a  bridle,  a  yoke,  a  rudder,  a  lash,  a  sword, 
and  an  apple-branch.  Special  festivals,  called  Nemesia, 
accompanied  by  public  sacrifices  to  assure  her  good  will, 
were  held  annually  in  Athens  and  in  Smyrna. 

Now  Erebus,  now  Ocean  us,  is  mentioned  as  her  father, 
while  Zeus  is  said  to  have  been  her  lover,  and  Helena  their 
laughter. 

To  execute  her  commands  she  had  three  attendants — Dike, 
^oena,  and  Erinys  (respectively  justice,  punishment,  and 
vengeance).  She  was  a  terror  to  evil-doers.  At  the  same 
time  her  endeavors  to  preserve  an  equal  balance  in  the  atti- 


214 


infehior  deities. 


I 


II 

■«»«» 


CHL 

nr  S'*' 

in»' 

:3t^’ 
tit' 
■11  fill 


»«' 


tode  of  man  to  man  were  recognized  as  springing  from  a  ! 
deep-seated  love,  and  therefore  she  was*  placed  beside  the 
Graces.  In  Smyrna  several  winged  beings  of  her  type  were  i 
worshipped.  i 

ERIS,  I 

i| 

Called  by  the  Romans  Discordia,  the  goddess  of  strife,  was 
employed  by  the  other  gods  to  stir  np  fierce  disputes  and  j 
mortal  quarrels  among  men.  It  was  she  who  caused  the  j 
dispute  betweeu  Hera  (Jimo),  Athene  (Minerva),  and  Aphro¬ 
dite  (Venus)  for  the  possession  of  the  golden  apple,  the  prize 
of  beauty,  which  she  threw  among  the  company  assembled  at 
the  marriage  of  Peleus. 

Terrible  in  form  and  aspect,  with  attributes  like  those  of 
the  Eumenides,  with  whom  her  home  was  in  the  realms 
below,  she  was  looked  on  as  the  sister  and  companion,  some¬ 
times  as  the  wife,  of  Ares,  the  god  of  massacre.  Her  daughter 
was 

ENYO, 

Whom  the  Romans  called  Bellona,  now  believins'  her  to  be 
the  wife  and  now  the  sister  of  Mars.  Similarly  among  the 
Greeks,  Enyo,  the  murderous  goddess  of  war,  delighting  in 
devastation,  was  associated  with  Ares,  who  also  bore  the  title 
of  Enyalios,  either  driving  his  chariot  or  rushing  in  front  of 
it  to  battle.  The  peculiar  fierceness  and  fury  with  which 
she  spread  terror  and  alarm  in  a  battle  distinguished  her 
from  Pallas  Athene.  She  was  represented  as  of  frightful 
aspect,  with  flowing  hair,  rushing  wildly  hither  and  thither, 
with  a  lash  in  her  hand,  and  armed  with  shield  and  spear. 
Her  most  celebrated  temple  was  that  at  Comana,  in  Asia 
Minor. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  against  the  Samnites  a  temple  was 
erected  to  her  in  Rome  by  Appius  Claudius.  There  the 


ATE. 


215 


Senate  used  to  meet  when  they  had  to  deliberate  with  an 
embassy  from  a  hostile  power,  or  when  they  had  to  decide 
whether  the  honor  of  a  triumphal  entry  into  the  city  should 
be  bestowed  upon  a  general.  At  the  entrance  to  the  temple 
stood  a  pillar,  which,  on  the  occasion  of  declaring  war,  was 
viewed  as  marking  the  boundary  between  Eoman  and  hostile 
territory.  The  ceremony  of  declaring  war  was  to  throw  a 
spear  over  this  pillar — that  is,  into  the  territory  of  the  enemy. 
There  festivals  of  din  and  wild  excitement  were  held  in  her 
honor.  Her  priests  were  styled  Bellonarii. 


PHEME,  OE  FAMA, 


The  goddess  of  fame  or  report,  whether  good  or  bad,  was 
said  to  be  a  daughter  of  Gaea,  and  born  at  the  time  of  her 
great  indignation  at  the  overthrow  of  the  Giants.  Sleepless, 
always  prying,  swift  of  foot,  Pheme  announced  whatever  she 
saw  or  heard  of,  at  first  in  a  whisper  addressed  only  to  a  few 
persons,  then  by  degrees  louder  and  to  a  larger  circle,  until 
finally  she  had  traversed  heaven  and  earth  communicating  it. 
She  was  represented  as  a  tender,  gentle  figure,  winged,  and 
holding  a  trumpet. 


ATE 

Was  the  goddess  of  infatuation,  mischief,  and  guilt,  mislead¬ 
ing  men  to  actions  that  involved  them  in  ruin.  For  this  her 
father,  Zeus,  cast  her  in  anger  from  Olympus,  and  from  that 
time  she  wandered  about  the  earth  in  search  of  victims  to 
her  malignant  influence.  She  was  spoken  of  as  powerful  in 
person  and  swift  of  foot,  running  before  men  to  mislead  them. 
Her  sisters  were  the 


I 

I 


p 


9\ 


216 


INFERIOR  DEITIES, 


IH 

:|| 


niH*.»W 


rjt 

«■:» 

»« 

pRn 


LITAT, 

Sweet-natured  goddesses,  whose  special  duty  was  to  recom¬ 
pense  the  persons  whom  Ate  had  reduced  to  distress  and 
•  ruin.  Their  name  signifies  prayers  of  the  penitent, and 
the  allegory  in  this  case  is  not  far  to  seek.  Prayers  atone 
and  make  amends  for  what  a  man  does  to  the  harm  of 
others  in  thoughtlessness  or  from  infatuation,  without  wicked 
thought  or  design.  In  the  Homeric  poems  they  are  described 
as  lame,  wrinkled,  and  squinting — those  deformities  being 
caused  by  the  trouble  they  had  in  making  good  the  harm  done 
by  Ate.  Penitent  prayers  were  at  best  but  sorry  aid  in 
making  good  the  evil  done  from  infatuation  or  carelessness. 

The  Litai  were  supposed  to  be  daughters  of  Zeus,  and  to 
place  before  him  the  prayers  of  those  who  invoked  his  assist¬ 
ance. 


THE  ERINYS,  OR  FURIAE, 


Called  also  Dirae,  Eumenides,  or  Semnae — that  is,  the 
''  revered’’  goddesses— were  daughters  of  Night,  or,  accord¬ 
ing  to  another  myth,  of  the  Earth  and  Darkness,  while  a 
third  account  calls  them  ofPspring  of  Cronus  and  Eurynonie. 
They  were  attendants  of  Hades  and  Persephone,  and  lived 
at  the  entrance  to  the  lower  world.  Their  first  duty  was  to 
see  to  the  puuishment  of  those  of  the  departed  who,  having 
been  guilty  of  some  crime  on  earth,  had  come  down  to  the 
shades  without  obtaining  atonement  from  the  gods.  At  tlie 
command  of  the  higher  gods,  sometimes  of  Nemesis,  thev 
appeared  on  earth  pursuing  criminals.  Nothing  escaped 
their  sharp  eyes  as  they  followed  the  evil-doer  with  speed 
and  fury,  permitting  him  no  rest. 

A  sad  instance  of  this  is  the  story  of  Orestes,  the  son  of 
Ag'amemnon,  who  slew  his  mother,  Clytaemnestra,  to 
avenge  his  father’s  death,  The  atrocity  of  the  crime  com- 


THE  ERTNYS,  OR  FURIAE. 


217 


mitted  by  Clytaemnestra  was  held  by  Zeus  and  Apollo  to 
be  no  excuse  for  the  act  of  Orestes,  and  accordingly  he  was 
subjected  to  the  long  and  cruel  pursuit  of  the  Furies,  from 
which  he  was  at  length  freed  by  bringing,  on  the  advice  of  an 
oracle  of  Apollo,  an  image  of  Artemis  from  Taurus  to  Argos. 

In  the  illustration  one  of  the  Erinys  is  represented  as  pur¬ 
suing  Orestes;  the  face  reflected  on  the  mirror  which  she  holds 
is  perhaps  that  of  Clytaemnestra. 

The  number  of  the  Erinyes,  var^dng  in  early  times,  was 
afterward  fixed  to  three  :  Tisiphon©  (the  avenger  of  mur¬ 
der),  Alecto  (the  unwearied 
persecutor),  and  Megaera 
(the  grim).  They  were  rep¬ 
resented  as  female  figures 
of  odious  aspect,  clad  in 
black,  sometimes  winged, 
with  hair  formed  of  vipers, 
and  carrying  a  serpent,  a 
knife,  or  a  torch  in  their 
hands.  In  time  this  grim 
conception  of  them  fell 
away,  and  they  came  to  be 
represented  as  beautiful, 
serious  maidens,  clad  some¬ 
thing  like  Artemis.  As 
divine  beings,  whose  office 
it  was  to  punish  neglect  of 
duty,  breach  of  faith,  and 
crimes  committed  ag-ainst 

o 

parents,  they  came  to  be  looked  upon  as  aiding  the  preser¬ 
vation  of  a  high  morality,  and  were  called  Eumenides,  or 
the  ''  well-minded  goddesses.’'  When  sacrifices  were  offered 
to  them,  the  place  chosen  for  the  occasion  was  of  a  wild 
character,  the  time  night,  and  the  animals  sacrificed,  black. 
In  Greece  there  were  several  temples  and  solemn  groves  dedi¬ 
cated  to  them — as,  for  example,  at  Colonus,  close  by  Athens. 


218 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


THE  HARPIES, 

Also  were  creatures  employed,  according  to  the  belief  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  by  the  higher  gods  to  carry  out  the 
punishment  of  crime.  They  were  three  in  number  :  Aello, 
Ocypete,  and  Celaeno,  or  Podarge;  and  were  said  to  be 
daughters  of  the  giant  Thaumas  and  the  Oceanid  nymph 
Electra.  Their  body  was  that  of  a  bird,  their  head  that  of 
a  woman;  and  it  would  seem  that  they  were  originally  god¬ 
desses  of  the  storm,  which  carries  everything  along  with  it. 


jj;  Their  manner  of  punishing  those  whom  they  were  sent  to 
punish  was  to  carry  off  all  the  food  set  before  their  victim, 
iiai  and  devour  it,  or  failing  that,  to  render  it  uneatable.  Among 

'JjJi  others  who  were  punished  in  this  way  was  Phineus,  a  king 

of  Thrace,  his  crime  having  been  cruelty  toward  his  own  son 
and  contempt  of  the  gods.  For  showing  the  Argonauts  the 
way  to  Colchis  he  was,  however,  freed  from  their  persecution 
by  Calais  and  Zetes,  the  winged  sons  of  Boreas,  who,  in 
gratitude,  killed  them.  At  other  times,  as  in  the  case  of  the 


THE  GORdONS. 


219 


I;  daughters  of  Pandareus,  they  are  described  as  carrying  off 
i; their  victims  bodily  from  the  earth;  while,  on  the  so-called 
i  Harpy  tomb  in  the  British  Museum,  they  appear  to  be  repre¬ 
sented  as  demons  of  death  carrying  away  the  souls  of  deceased 
..  persons. 


THE  GOKGONS, 

1  By  name  Stheino,  Euryale,  and  Medusa,  were  daughters  of 
IPhoroys  and  Ceto.  Two  of  them  were  believed  to  be  im¬ 
mortal,  while  the  third.  Medusa,  the  youngest  and  most 
beautiful  of  them,  was  mortal.  She  loved  Poseidon,  and 
:  having  met  him  once  in  the  temple  of  Athene,  to  the  dese¬ 
cration  of  that  building,  was  punished  by  having  her  beau- 
Itiful  hair  turned  into  snakes,  thus  making  her  appearance 
I  more  ghastly  than  that  of  her  sisters.  Her  face  was  terrible 
to  behold,  turning  the  spectator  into  stone.  At  last  Perseus, 

I  finding  her  asleep,  cut  off  her  head  with  his  curved  sword, 
and  presented  it  to  Athene,  who  had  assisted  him  in  the 
■enterprise,  to  be  worn  on  her  aegis  or  shield  as  a  terror  to 
her  enemies. 

The  ancient  poets  describe  the  Gorgons  generally  as  hor¬ 
rid,  aged  women,  and  frequently  place  them  by  the  side  of 
dhe  Furies.  In  early  times  there  was  only  one  Gorgon — 

I  Medusa — instead  of  the  three  of  later  times.  The  winged 
horse,  Peg-asus,  was  the  offspring  of  her  and  Poseidon. 

In  art  Perseus  is  represented  standing  with  sword  in  one 
hand  and  the  head  of  Medusa  in  the  other,  turning  his  face 
away  to  avoid  seeing  it  (see  page  247).  The  subject  of  Per¬ 
seus  cutting  off  the  head  of  Medusa  occurs  in  one  of  the 
earliest  examples  of  Greek  sculpture — one  of  the  metopes  of 
the  oldest  temple  at  Selinus,  in  Sicily;  and  from  the  conven¬ 
tional  manner  in  which  her  face  is  represented,  compared 
with  the  other  parts  of  the  sculpture,  it  is  agreed  that  the 
type  must  have  been  familiar  for  some  time  to  Greek  art. 
To  possess  a  representation  of  a  Gorgon’s  face  was  to  be  pro- 

Murray — 17 


e  :}' 

#'  C 

•icaCs 

;;a5S®i 

•  ■Ml||U  |i# 

.iHlIPj* 

.t!rC, 

c;irJA' 

OJZ 

r-.!5» 

w 

K1 

WH»  0^ 


W*i/  iH* 


|HW 

tJfi' 

.tisi 

CIS 

Cl 


220  iNFEitlOR  DEITIES. 

vided  with  a  charm  against  ills,  and  accordingly  it  was  fre¬ 
quently  employed  as  a  personal  ornament.  Many  hundreds 


The  Dying  Medusa. 

of  such  faces  worked  in  thin  gold,  and  intended  to  be  stitched 
down  on  garments,  were  found  in  the  tomb  of  a  priestess  of 


NYX,  OB  NOX. 


221 


i  Deraeter  in  Certch,  and  are  now  in  the  hermitage  of  St. 
i  Petersburg.  A  representation  of  Perseus  escaping  after  cut- 

I  ting  off  the  Gorgon’s  head,  and  being  pursued  by  her  sisters, 

II  occurs  on  a  small  vase  in  the  British  Museum,  where  also  is 
t)  to  be  seen,  on  a  fragment  of  a  terra-cotta  relief,  Athene  hold- 
i:  ing  up  the  shield,  the  polished  surface  of  which  reflected  her 
f  face,  and  thus  guided  Perseus  to  the  spot  without  his  encoun- 
t  tering  its  deadly  stare. 


THE  GRAEAE, 

I  Daughters  of  Phorcys  and  Ceto,  were  three  in  number; 
I  Deino,  Pephredo,  and  Enyo ;  their  names  meaning  respec- 
\  tively  alarm,”  dread,”  and  horror.”  Sisters  and  at 
[  the  same  time  guardians  of  the  Gorgons,  they  were  conceived 
a  as  misshapen  hideous  creatures,  hoary  and  withered  from 
t  their  birth,  with  only  one  eye  and  one  tooth  for  the  common 
1  use  of  the  three,  and  were  supposed  to  inhabit  a  dark  cavern 
I  near  the  entrance  to  Tartarus.  The  belief  in  their  existence 
-  seems  to  have  been  originally  suggested  by  the  gray  fog  or 
t  mist  which  lies  upon  the  sea  and  is  a  frequent  source  of  dan- 
^  ger  to  the  mariner.  It  is  said  that  Persms  obtained  from 
!  them  the  necessary  information  as  to  the  dwelling  of  the 
'  Gorgons  by  seizing  their  solitary  eye  and  tooth,  and  refusing 
t  to  return  them  until  they  showed  him  the  way. 

NYX,  OR  NOX, 

'  Was,  it  will  be  remembered,  a  daughter  of  Chaos.  She 
I  became  the  wife  of  Erebus  (darkness),  and  bore  to  him  two 
I  children.  Aether  (the  pure  air)  aud  Hemera  (day).  In  the 
I  earliest  form  of  the  myth  she  was  one  of  the  seven  elements 
1  that  constituted  the  world — fire^  water,  earth,  sky,  sun,  moon. 
!i  and  night,  ^ 


222 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


In  time  the  lively  imagination  of  the  ancients  associated 


with  this  mysterious  goddess  of  night  a  control  over  illness, 
sufferings,  dreams,  misfortunes,  quarrels,  war,  murder,  sleep, 
and  death,  everything  inexplicable  and  frightful  that  befell 


men  being  personified  and  described  as  her  offspring. 

She  was  supposed  to  inhabit  a  palace  in  the  lower  world 


jointly  with  Day.  When  the  latter  entered  the  palace, 
Night  rode  out  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  two  black  steeds,  and, 
accompanied  by  many  stars,  traversed  the  heavens  till  day¬ 
break,  when  she  returned  to  the  palace. 


She  was  represented  as  a  serious  figure  clad  in  long  heavy 


drapery,  on  her  head  a  black  star-spangled  veil;  with  black 
wings,  and  carrying  two  children  in  her  arms  (one  of  them 
being  white  to  personify  Sleep,  the  other  black,  to  personify 


Death),  or  riding  in  a  black  chariot,  holding  an  extinguished 
torch  inverted. 


HYPNOS,  OE  SOMNUS, 


ggj  Was,  as  we  have  just  said,  a  son  of  Night,  twin  brother  of 
Thanatos  (death),  with  whom  he  lived  in  deep  subterranean 
darkness  at  the  entrance  to  Tartarus.  His  influence  extended 
!r£  by  the  latter  he  was  viewed  as  a 

special  benefactor,  giving  the  weary  refreshing  rest,  and  suf- 
ferers  alleviation  of  their  pain. 

J  He  was  represented  in  different  forms  and  attitudes,  with 

;s;g  different  attributes — now  nude,  or  lightly  or  heavily  clad, 

^  ^  now  standing,  or  striding  hastily,  or  reposing  heavily;  or  as 

III  ^  powerful  youth  holding  a  poppy  or  a  horn,  from  which 

tg  sleep  trickled  down  on  those  reposing;  or  as  a  child,  and 

tg  sometimes  as  a  bearded,  aged  man.  On  his  head  were  the 

\Z  wings  of  a  hawk  or  a  night  bird,  and  beside  him  frequently 

a  lizard.  He  was  looked  on  as  a  favorite  of  the  Muses, 
apparently  because  of  the  dreams  he  was  supposed  to  com¬ 
municate  to  men. 


In  the  British  Museum  is  a  very  beautiful  bronze  head  of 


MOMUS. 


223 


*  Hypnos,  with  the  wings  of'  a  hawk  growing  out  from  the 
temples.  In  the  Iliad,  Hera  commands  him  to  take  the  form 
!  of  the  bird  which  men  call  a  hawk.  How  the  idea  originated 
:  of  attaching  wings  to  the  temple  is  uncertain. 


ONEIROS  AND  MORPHEUS 


\  A.re  two  different  forms  of  the  god  of  dreams.  According 
lo  the  meaning  of  their  names,  the  office  of  the  latter  would 
be  to  fashion  dreams,  as  the  gods  desired  them  to  be  sent  to 
!  men.  In  this  task  he  was  assisted  by  Icelus,  who  fashioned 
those  dreams  that  had  all  the  appearance  of  reality,  by  Pho- 
'  betor,  the  author  of  alarming  dreams,  and  Phantasus,  who 
tricked  sleepers  with  innumerable  and  strange  phenomena. 

'  Bat  we  find  Morpheus  also  represented  in  the  capacity  of  a 
sort  of  watchman  and  guardian  of  dreams,  as  Aeolus  was  of 
the  winds. 

Oneiros  was  properly  a  personification  of  dreams,  whether 
;  idle  or  deceptive  or  really  prophetic.  Dreams  of  the  former 
class  were  supposed  to  issue  from  the  ivory  gates,  those  of 
the  latter  class  from  the  horn  gate,  of  the  palace  where  they 
were  kept,  beside  the  Western  Ocean  us.  They  were  called 
i  children  of  Night,  sometimes  children  of  Sleep,  and  were 
directly  under  the  control  of  the  superior  order  of  gods,  who, 
as  they  pleased,  despatched  deceptive  or  prophetic  dreams  to 
men. 


MOMUS 

Was  a  deity  whose  delight  and  occupation  was  to  jeer  bit¬ 
terly  at  the  actions  both  of  gods  and  men,  sparing  no  one 
with  his  insinuations  except  Aphrodite,  in  whom  he  could 
find  nothing  to  blame,  and  vexed  himself  to  death  in  conse¬ 
quence.  As  an  example  of  his  behavior,  it  is  said  that  he 


It 

n 


224 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


complained  of  the  man  that  Prometheus  had  made,  because 
there  was  not  a  window  in  his  breast  through  which  his 
thoughts  might  be  seen. 


S'T. 
c  :i' 

;St 

«  C 
«aC 

iiJlA 

P:;S 


Iw/ 1*' 

CSUi 


:s*"’ 

cje: 


THANATOS,  OR  MORS, 

The  god  of  death,  was,  as  we  have  said,  a  son  of  Night  and  \ 
twin  brother  of  Sleep.  He  was,  however,  also  described  as  i 
a  son  of  Earth  and  Tartarus,  to  whom  it  was  his  office  to  j 
introduce,  some  time  or  other,  the  whole  of  mankind.  The 
relentless  severity  with  which  he  discharged  the  task  caused 
him  to  be  frequently  regarded  with  pain,  and  to  be  repre¬ 
sented  as  of  a  powerfid  figure,  with  shaggy  beard  and  fierce 
countenance,  with  great  wings  to  his  shoulders,  and  resem¬ 
bling,  on  the  whole,  the  figure  of  Boreas,  the  god  of  the  wild  i 
north  wind  of  winter.  This  form,  in  the  case  of  both  deities,  ^ 
was  expressive  of  the  violent  nature  of  their  functions. 

Thanatos  was,  however,  more  frequently  regarded  with  1 
submission,  or  as  coming  opportunely,  and  in  such  cases  was  ^ 
represented  in  the  form  of  a  quiet,  pensive  youth,  winged,  \ 
standing  with  his  legs  crossed,  often  beside  an  urn  with  a 
wreath  on  it,  and  holding  an  extinguished  torch  reversed. 
Or,  as  a  personification  of  endless  repose,  he  appeared  in  the  j 
form  of  a  beautiful  youth  leaning  against  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  j 
with  one  arm  thrown  up  over  his  head — an  attitude  by  which  ! 
ancient  artists  usually  expressed  repose.  It  was  probably  j 
owing  to  the  spread  of  the  belief  that  death  was  a  transition  [ 
from  life  to  Elysium,  that  in  later  times  this  more  attractive  ^ 
representation  of  the  god  of  death  took  the  place  of  the  [ 
former  repulsive  representations,  whether  as  a  powerful  and  [ 
violent  god,  or  as  a  black  child  in  the  arms  of  his  mother,  i 
Night.  A\nong  the  figures  sculptured  on  the  chest  of  Cypse-  f 
lus,  a  description  of  which  we  have  still  in  Pausanias,  was 
that  of  Night  carrying  twin  children  in  her  arms — the  one  [ 
white,  representing  Sleep,  and  the  other  black,  representing 


DAEMONS,  OR  OENTI. 


225 


Death.  On  Roman  sarcophagi,  Mors,  or  the  genius  of  death, 
was  represented  in  the  form  of  a  winged  boy,  resembling 
Cupid,  resting  and  holding  a  torch.  In  the  Alcestis  of 
Euripides  he  is  described  as  armed  with  a  sword. 


DAEMONS,  OR  GENII, 

Were  an  order  of  invisible  beings,  one  of  whom  was  as- 
signed  by  Zeus  to  every  man,  to  attend,  protect,  and  guide 
him.  They  were  nameless,  and,  like  the  multitude  of  man¬ 
kind,  innumerable.  Some  of  them  acted  as  personal  attend¬ 
ants  to  deities  of  a  higher  order,  and  in  that  case  were  repre¬ 
sented  under  particular  forms,  and  enjoyed  distinctive  names, 
while  others  were  believed  to  watch  over  particular  districts, 
towns,  or  nations.  While  the  Greeks  regarded  these  Daemons 
as  deities  of  an  inferior  order,  the  Romans  believed  them  to 
be  a  sort  of  intermediate  beings  linking  mankind  to  the  gods. 
The  Daemons  assigned  to  women  were  supposed  to  be  fem¬ 
inine. 

To  every  man  was  assigned  a  Daemon  at  his  birth.  Iden^ 
tifying  itself  with  him,  it  endeavored,  throughout  his  life,  to 
guide  him  in  a  wise  course,  and  at  his  death  died  with  him. 
To  be  of  a  cheerful  mood,  and  to  be  careful  of  prolonging 
life,  was  to  live  in  obedience  to  a  man’s  Daemon  or  Genius. 
To  be  sad  and  vexed,  or  to  shorten  life  by  recklessness,  was 
to  wrong  the  attendant  spirit.  On  birthdays  it  was  usual  to 
offer  a  sacrifice  of  wine,  milk,  flowers,  or  incense  to  the 
Genius,  while  at  most  meals  some  unmixed  wine  was  poured 
out  to  the  Good  Daemon”  (Agathodaemon). 

The  usual  representation  of  a  being  of  this  class  was  in 
the  form  of  a  youth  holding  a  horn  of  plenty  and  a  dish  in 
one  hand,  and  some  heads  of  poppies  and  ears  of  grain  in 
the  other.  The  presence  of  a  Daemon  was  also  symbolized 
by  the  figure  of  a  serpent. 

Besides  the  general  family  of  Genii,  the  Romans  had  one 


226 


INFERIOR  DEITIES. 


great  Genius  whom  they  reckoned  among  the  gods  of  the 
second  rank,  and  esteemed  highly,  believing  that  he  had  some 
control  over  the  others. 

LARES  AND  PENATES 

Were  beings  peculiar  to  the  religion  of  the  Romans.  Every 
household  was  supposed  to  be  under  the  protection  of  one 
Lar  and  several  Penates,  whose  presence  was  symbolized  by 
images  in  the  form  of  a  youth  wearing  a  short  tunic,  girt  at 
the  waist,  and  holding  a  horn  of  plenty  in  one  hand,  and  a 
patera^  or  flat  circular  dish,  in  the  other.  Such  images  of 
the  Lares  and  Penates  were  kept  in  a  particular  part  of  the 
house  called  the  Lararium,  received  constant  offerings  of 
incense  and  libations,  and  were  decked  with  garlands  of  vio¬ 
lets  and  rosemary.  When  a  slave  obtained  his  freedom,  it 
was  the  custom  of  his  former  master  to  hang  a  chain  upon 
the  flgures  of  his  Lares.  When  a  youth  left  the  paternal 
roof  he  prayed  :  Ye  Penates  of  my  fathers,  and  you,  Lar, 
father  of  our  family,  I  commend  to  you  my  parents,  that  you 
,  may  protect  them.  Other  Penates  and  another  Lar  I  must 
now  seek.’^ 

Beside  these  private  household  deities  there  were  also 
public  Lares,  who  were  recognized  as  the  protecting  spirits 
of  whole  states  and  towns.  Of  these  there  were  originally 
two  in  Rome,  and  later  three — the  spirit  of  Julius  Caesar 
having  been  added  as  the  third;  for  the  Lares  were  consid¬ 
ered  to  be  the  spirits  of  deceased  persons  who  continued  to 
watch  over  and  influence  the  living.  The  other  two  were, 
however,  regarded  sometimes  as  sons  of  Mercury  and  a 
nymph  called  Lara.  Statues  and  temples  were  erected  in 
their  honor.  Sacrifice  and  prayers  for  the  safety  of  the  state 
were  offered  up  at  their  altars,  which  in  spring  and  in  sum¬ 
mer  were  frequently  decked  with  flowers.  They  were  pro¬ 
tectors  of  highways  and  travellers,  and  in  this  capacity  had 


THE  MANES. 


227 


the  honor  of  a  festival  called  Compitalia,  which  was  annu¬ 
ally  celebrated  at  cross-roads,  a  few  days  after  the  Satur¬ 
nalia,  and  consisted  of  a  banquet  and  sacrifice  of  cakes,  the 
ceremony  being  conducted  by  slaves.  To  the  Lares  who 
protected  the  fields,  sacrifices  of  lambs,  calves,  and  pigs  were 
offered. 

It  was  believed  that  the  Genii  of  good  people  became  after 
their  death  kindly  Lares,  while  the  Genii  of  evil-doers  be¬ 
came  Lemures  or  Larvae — that  is,  evil  spirits  who  wandered 
about  the  earth  afflicting  mankind  with  illnesses  for  which 
there  was  no  remedy  but  expiatory  sacrifices  to  the  gods. 
Persons  who  died  without  expiation  for  every  wrong  they 
had  done  were  pursued  by  these  Larvae  in  the  lower  world. 


THE  MANES, 

Generally  speaking,  were  the  souls  of  the  departed  inhabit¬ 
ing  the  realm  of  shadows.  Survivors,  however,  who  believed 
that  departed  souls  sustained  a  higher  and  nobler  existence, 
regarded  them  as  divine  beings,  calling  them  Dii  Manes, 
offered  sacrifice  to  them  at  tombs,  and  thought  it  possible  tc 
call  them  up  from  the  lower  world. 


DEMIGODS.  OE  HEROES. 


■>  c 

!;:e| 

iiOCt 

•kKS^ 

ifir-L 

ff:irE.i 

0\iZ 

•mv. 


kniT  |H*' 


nilfJ 


Demigods,  or  heroes,  were  a  class  of  beings  peculiar,  it 
would  seem,  to  the  mythology  of  the  Greeks.  They  were 
regarded  partly  as  of  divine  origin,  were  represented  as  men 
possessed  of  godlike  form,  strength,  and  courage;  were  be¬ 
lieved  to  have  lived  on  earth  in  remote  dim  ages  of  the 
nation’s  history;  to  have  been  occupied  in  their  lifetime  with 
thrilling  adventures  and  extraordinary  services  in  the  cause 
of  human  civilization,  and  to  have  been  after  death  in  some 
cases  translated  to  a  life  among  the  gods,  and  entitled  to  sacri¬ 
fice  and  worship.  They  were  described  as  having  been  the 
first  sovereigns  and  legislators  of  the  nation,  and  as  the 
founders  of  all  the  kingly  and  noble  families.  Monsters 
that  devastated  particular  localities  were  destroyed,  the 
oppressed  were  set  free,  and  everywhere  order  and  peaceful 
institutions  were  established  by  them.  They  were,  in  short, 
the  adventurous  knights  the  history  of  whose  deeds  formed 
for  the  mass  of  the  people  the  first  chapter  of  the  national 
history,  and  that  in  a  manner  worthy  both  of  the  civilization 
to  which  the  nation  had  attained  and  of  the  gods  to  whose 
influence  the  progress  was  due.  The  legends  of  their  adven¬ 
tures  furnished  to  poets  and  artists  an  inexhaustible  treasure 
of  striking  figures,  wonderful  deeds,  and  strange  events,  while 
they  formed  at  the  same  time  a  most  powerful  element  in  the 
national  education. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  belief  in  these  beings  may 
have  originated  in  later  times,  in  an  impulse  to  people  the 
blank  early  pre-historic  age  with  ideal  figures  of  a  sublime 
order  of  men,  to  whom  the  nation  might  look  back  with 
(228) 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  HEROES, 


229 


pride,  or  that  it  may  have  originated  in  a  desire  to  dwell  on 
the  memory  of  distinguished  persons  who  had  actually  existed, 
and  in  time,  by  so  doing,  to  exaggerate  their  actions  to  a  de¬ 
gree  quite  beyond  human  powers.  But  it  is  far  more  prob¬ 
able  that,  like  the  gods,  the  heroes  had  originally  been  divine 
personifications  of  certain  elements  of  nature,  and  the  legends 
of  adventures  ascribed  to  them  merely  a  mythical  form  of 
describing  the  phenomena  of  these  elements.  The  idea,  for 
example,  of  a  long  struggle  and  ultimate  victory  over  grim 
enemies,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  these  adventures,  is  the 
same  idea  that  we  find  pervading  the  early  myths,  in  which 
the  powers  of  light  are  represented  as  struggling  with,  and 
finally  overcoming  the  powers  of  darkness.  But  while  the 
gods  always  maintained  their  relationship  to  the  elements  of 
nature,  of  which  they  were  divine  personifications — marine 
deities,  for  instance,  dwelling  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and 
celestial  deities  in  the  pure  ether — the  heroes  or  demigods, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  ceased  to  be  identified  with  any  par¬ 
ticular  element,  and  though  retaining  the  form,  strength,  and 
courage  of  gods,  came  in  time  to  be  regarded  as  men  of  high 
order  that  had  once  inhabited  Greece,  but  had  passed  away. 
The  legends,  which,  as  we  have  said,  had  been  intended  to 
be  mythical  descriptions  of  certain  natural  phenomena,  were 
expanded  so  as  to  embrace  the  new  variety  of  adventures 
which  imagination  with  its  wide  scope  now  assigned  to  the  « 
heroes. 

\ 

There  appears  to  have  been  a  time  when  the  gods  gener-  ' 
ally  were  in  danger  of  being  reduced  in  this  manner  to  the 
condition  of  demigods  or  heroes — such  events,  for  instance, 
as  the  war  of  Zeus  with  the  Titans  and  Giants,  the  contests  g, 
of  Apollo  with  Tityus  and  Python,  or  of  Dionysus  with  his 
enemies,  being  calculated,  from  their  adventurous  nature,  to  " 
present  their  authors  more  in  the  light  of  heroes  than  of 
gods,  and  to  form  readily  subjects  for  the  epic  poets,  as 
indeed  the  contests  of  Dionysus  did.  This  tendency  was, 
however,  arrested  by  the  necessity  of  defining,  for  the  pur- 


230 


DEMIOODS,  OR  HEROES, 


poses  of  worship,  the  province  of  the  various  deities.  From 
that  time  the  position  of  the  gods  was  determined,  while  the 
heroes  became  less  and  less  distinguishable  from  men,  the 
legends  concerning  them  assuming  gradually  more  of  a  his¬ 
torical  than  of  an  ideal  character.  Traditions  of  early 
battles  and  victories  that  still  lingered  among  the  people 
were  made  to  circle  round  these  imaginary  heroes,  who  in 
time  became  the  centres  of  all  the  earliest  national  recollec¬ 
tions,  the  accredited  founders  of  most  of  the  elementary 
institutions  of  social  life,  and  the  guides  of  colonists. 

It  does  not,  however,  follow  that  the  particular  elements 
of  nature  over  which  the  heroes  or  demigods  had  originally 
presided  were  left  after  this  separation  unrepresented  by 
divine  beings.  For  in  addition  to  the  vast  number  of  gods 
in  the  Greek  national  religion,  whom  we  have  already  de¬ 
scribed  as  identified  with  this  or  that  department  of  the 
J  ;i!  universe,  there  must  have  been  in  the  early  ages  a  large 
number  of  local  deities,  who,  when  the  tribes  to  which  they 
Siiil  were  peculiar  coalesced  in  after  times  into  one  Greek  nation, 
S  have  appeared  in  many  cases  quite  identical  in  char- 

'*'■'7^  acter,  though  probably  very  often  different  in  regard  to  the 
details  of  the  deeds  or  adventures  ascribed  to  them.  Thus 
Sr!i  i^any  who  have  been  dispensed  with  as  gods  would  be  re- 
tained,  on  account  of  their  local  adventures,  as  heroes  or 
•I'  demigods. 

uZ,  Turning  to  the  oldest  examples  of  the  Greek  epic  poetry 
which  we  possess  —  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  —  we  find  the 
rP  heroes  represented  as  hardly  distinguishable  from  men. 
IE  powerful,  more  beautiful,  and  more  courageous  they 

!;ii  were  than  the  ordinary  men  of  their  day,  and  on 

fi!:  account  were  looked  on  as  descendants  of  the  gods;  still 

their  ways  of  life  were  distinctly  the  ways  of  men,  not  of 
gods. 

By  the  time  of  Hesiod  we  find  this  opinion  of  the  heroes 
changed.  The  heroic  age  is  lamented  as  a  thing  of  the  past. 
The  people  of  his  time,  aware  of  their  weakness  and  wants. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  HEROES. 


231 


looked  back  with  reverent  feelings  to  the  happy  age  in  which 
the  great  heroes  stood  between  the  gods  and  feeble  mankind. 
Zeus,  it  was  taught  by  Hesiod,  had  translated  the  heroes  to 
the  islands  of  the  blest,  far  removed  from  men,  where  they 
lived  in  a  perpetual  golden  age  under  the  sovereignty  of 
Cronus.  The  people,  however,  thought  otherwise,  believing 
that  the  ancient  tumuli  in  Grreece  and  in  iGsia  iVfinor  were 
the  graves  of  the  heroes.  The  imposing  tumuli  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Hellespont,  for  instance,  were  viewed  as  the 
tombs  of  Achilles,  Patroclus,  and  Ajax.  Sanctuaries  and 
temples  were  erected  to  heroes,  their  bones  were  searched 
for,  and  when  found  regarded  as  a  great  source  of  strength  to 
the  town  that  possessed  them^  all  relics  of  their  stay  on 
earth  were  hallowed,  and  a  form  of  worship  was  specially 
adapted  to  them. 

In  later  times  the  heroes  came  to  be  identified  more  or  less 
with  the  Daemons.  The  consequence  of  this  was  that  all 
individuals  who  on  account  of  extraordinary  strength,  cour¬ 
age,  beauty,  talent,  or  self-sacrifice,  were  supposed  to  be  pos¬ 
sessed  of  special  Daemons,  were  recokoned  as  heroes.  And 
this  was  not  confined  to  persons  remarkable  for  their  good 
qualities,  successful  daring  entitling  a  robber  to  this  rank  as 
much  as  did  the  bravery  of  the  men  who  fell  at  Marathon 
and  Plataea. 

In  still  later  times,  as  the  belief  gained  ground  that  every 
soul  had  something  of  the  nature  of  a  Daemon  in  it,  and  was 
destined  to  a  higher  and  nobler  life,  heroic  honors  were  paid 
to  almost  all  the  dead;  so  that  when  a  man  of  particular  dis¬ 
tinction  died,  the  only  course  left  open  of  paying  him  signal 
honors  was  to  regard  him  as  having  been,  after  the  manner 
of  Hercules,  translated  to  a  life  among  the  gods,  and  to  wor¬ 
ship  him  as  a  god. 

It  is,  however,  only  with  the  heroes  and  demigods  that 
occur  in  the  mythology  and  the  epic  poetry  that  we  have  to 
do.  They  may  be  divided  into  three  classes  :  First,  the  demi¬ 
gods,  associated  with  the  creation  of  mankind  and  the  earliest 


232 


DEMIGODS,  OB  HEROES. 


incidents  of  human  history  and  civilization — the  most  strik¬ 


ing  figure  among  them  being  that  of  Prometheus.  Secondly, 
the  earlier  heroes  properly  so  called — such  as  Hercules, 
Theseus,  Minos,  Perseus,  or  Bellerophon,  who  were  dis¬ 
tinguished  for  their  extraordinary  adventures,  labors,  and 
expeditions,  such,  for  example,  as  that  of  the  Argonauts  to 
Colchis.  Thirdly,  the  more  recent  heroes,  the  tales  of  whose 


expeditions — for  instance,  those  against 
Thebes — read  more  historical  traditions  ma^nil 


imagination  of  the  poets,  than  allegorical  narratives  such  as 
those  of  the  two  preceding  classes. 


■mu  9^ 

«l:^ 

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■mu  pM) 


nil 

•ai'  M^lt 


THE  CREATION  OF  MAN. 


PROMETHEUS  AND  THE  FIRST  DEMIGODS. 


Among  the  various  opinions  in  ancient  times  concerning 
the  origin  of  mankind,  the  most  generally  accepted  one  ap¬ 
pears  to  have  been  that  in  which  it  was  asserted  that  man 


Deucalion  and  Pyrrha. 

and  all  other  forms  of  life  had,  like  the  gods,  originally 
sprung  from  the  common  mother  earth.  It  was  not  sup¬ 
posed  that  the  whole  human  race  could  trace  its  lineage  back 
to  one  primeval  pair;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  believed  that  a 
primeval  pair  had  been  created  in  all  the  chief  districts  in 

(  233  ) 


n» 

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234 


THE  CREATION  OF  MAN. 


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which  mankind  was  afterward  found  settled.  As  the  natural 
features  of  these  districts  varied,  so  varied  the  opinions  with 
regard  to  the  exact  substance  from  which  the  first  beings  had 
sprung.  In  wooded  and  mountainous  districts,  for  instance, 
they  were  held  to  have  sprung  from  rocks  and  trees;  in  val¬ 
leys,  from  the  moist  element  of  nature.  As  to  the  time  at 
which  this  creation  took  place,  and  whether  it  took  place 
simultaneously  throughout  the  various  inhabited  regions,  we 
have  no  means  of  knowing  the  current  belief. 

From  the  primitive  condition  of  savages  living  like  ani¬ 
mals  in  the  forests  and  caves,  they  advanced  slowly  in  the 
direction  of  civilization  —  sometimes  visited  with  terrible 
punishments,  and  sometimes  assisted  by  the  gods;  the  differ¬ 
ent  classes  or  tribes  becoming  in  time  united  into  two  great 
races — the  Pelasgic  and  the  Hellenic.  The  former  traced  its 
origin  to  the  Argive  Phoroneus,  and  appears  to  have  been 
resident  mainly  in  the  Peloponnesus,  while  the  latter  looked 
back  to  Deucalion  as  its  founder,  and  was  resident  in  Thes¬ 
saly  and  around  Parnassus.  According  to  the  story  a  great 
flood  had  swept  away  the  whole  human  race  except  one  pair, 
Deucalion  and  Pyrrha,  who,  as  the  flood  abated,  landed  on 
Mount  Parnassus,  and  thence  descending,  picked  up  stones, 
and  cast  them  round  about,  as  Zeus  had  commanded.  From 
these  stones  sprang  a  new  race — men  from  those  cast  by 
Deucalion,  and  women  from  those  cast  by  his  wife.  From 
Hellen,  the  son  of  Deucalion,  the  Hellenic  race  derived  its 
name,  while  its  four  great  branches,  the  Aeolians,  Dorians, 
Achaeans,  and  lonians,  traced  their  descent  and  names  from 
four  of  his  sons. 

In  such  a  primitive  condition  of  life,  perhaps  nothing  was 
regarded  as  of  greater  importance,  or  more  mysterious  in  its 
nature,  than  fire.  Its  beam  dispelled  the  dread  of  darkness, 
and  its  warmth  removed  the  chill  of  winter.  The  fire  of 
the  hearth  was  the  centre  of  domestic  life.  At  the  forge, 
tools  and  weapons  were  fashioned.  It  was  an  emblem  of  the 
life  of  man,  with  its  flash  and  sudden  extinction  on  the  one 


PROMETHEUS  AND  THE  EIRST  DEMIGODS.  235 

hand,  and  the  illumination  of  its  prolonged  blaze  on  the 
other.  In  storms  it  was  seen  descending  from  the  sky,  and 
in  volcanic  eruptions  it  was  seen  issuing  from  the  earth.  The 
source  of  it  all  was  readily  believed  to  be  in  the  close  keep¬ 
ing  of  the  gods;  and  how  mankind  came  to  obtain  the  use  of 
it  was  explained  in  the  story  of  Prometheus. 

Zeus,  foreseeing  the  arrogance  that  would  arise  from  the 
possession  of  so  great  a  blessing,  had  from  the  first  refused 
to  transmit  any  portion  of  his  sacred  fire  to  men.  Their 


Pandora. 


deplorable  condition,  however,  owing  to  the  want  of  it,  found 
a  champion  in  the  person  of  Prometheus  (a  son  of  the  Titan 
Japetus),  who  had  previously  identified  himself  with  the 
cause  of  humanity  in  a  dispute  that  arose  at  Mecone  (Sicyon) 
as  to  the  rightful  share  of  the  gods  in  all  sacrifices  offered  to 
them.  On  that  occasion  an  ox  had  been  slaughtered  as  a 
sacrifice,  and  Prometheus,  having  wrapped  up  all  the  eatable 
parts  in  the  skin  of  the  animal  as  one  portion,  and  having 
cleverly  covered  the  bones  and  worthless  parts  with  fat  as 
the  other  portion,  asked  Zeus  to  select  what  he  thouglit  the 

Murray — 18 


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•wn 


236  the  creation  of  man. 

better  portion  for  the  gods.  Zeus,  though  perfectly  aware 
of  the  deceit,  chose  the  worthless  parts,  and  more  firmly  than 
ever  determined  to  withhold  his  fire  from  men.  Prometheus, 
however,  resolved  to  obtain  it  for  them,  and  succeeded  in 
snatching  some  of  it  from  the  hearth  of  Zeus,  or,  as  another 
version  of  the  story  has  it,  from  the  forge  of  Hephaestus  in 
Lemnos.  As  a  punishment,  he  was  condemned  to  be  chained 
alive  to  a  rock  in  the  remote  Caucasus  mountains,  and  to 
submit  while  every  day  a  vulture  came  to  gnaw  away  his 
liver,  which  daily  grew  afresh.  For  a  long  time  he  bore  this 
suffering,  and,  indeed,  would  never  have  been  released  but 
for  the  secret  which  he  possessed  concerning  the  ultimate  fate 
of  the  dominion  of  Zeus,  who,  for  the  purpose  of  learning 
the  secret,  permitted  Hercules  to  shoot  the  vulture,  to  free 
Prometheus,  and  bring  him  back  to  Olympus. 

Meanwhile  the  human  race  enjoyed  the  many  benefits  of 
fire,  and  continued  to  advance  in  civilization  rapidly.  But 
that  their  cup  of  happiness  might  be  mixed  with  sorrow, 
Zeus  ordered  Hephaestus  to  fashion  a  woman  of  clay,  of 
divine  beauty,  but  possessed  of  all  the  weaknesses  as  well  as 
charms  of  human  nature.  Athene  instructed  her  in  the 
industrial  occupations  of  women.  Aphrodite  gave  her  grace 
of  manners,  and  taught  her  the  arts  of  a  beauty,  while 
Hermes  qualified  her  for  the  part  of  flattering  and  soothing. 
With  the  help  of  the  Graces  and  Horae,  Athene  robed  her 
with  costly,  beautiful  robes,  and  decked  her  with  flowers,  so 
that,  when  all  was  done.  Pandora,  as  they  called  her,  might 
be  irresistibly  attractive  to  gods  and  men.  Hermes  conducted 
^her  to  Epimetheus,  who,  though  warned  by  his  brother  Pro¬ 
metheus  to  accept  no  gift  from  Zeus,  yielded  to  the  besetting 
weakness  from  which  he  obtained  his  name — that  of  being 
wise  when  it  was  too  late.  He  received  Pandora  into  his 
house,  and  made  her  his  wife.  She  brought  with  her  a  vase, 
the  lid  of  which  was  to  remain  closed.  The  curiosity  of 
her  husband,  however,  tempted  him  to  open  it,  and  suddenly 
there  escaped  from  it  troubles,  weariness,  and  illnesses,  from 


PSOMBTHEUS  AND  THE  FIRST  DEMIGODS.  237 

which  mankind  was  never  afterward  free.  All  that  remained 
was  Hope. 

We  have  thus,  in  contrast  with  the  general  belief  described 
above  as  the  spontaneous  origin  of  man  from  the  earth,  an 
instance  of  a  human  being  directly  fashioned  by  the  gods 


Pandora  and  Her  Box. 


from  clay.  From  this  mean  substance  it  was  also  asserted 
the  first  men  were  made  by  Prometheus,  Athene  assisting 
him  by  breathing  life  into  his  figures.  But  this  was  prob- 


238 


THE  CREATION  OF  MAN 


c  :i 

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C3il' 


tiffm 

nifti: 

ciu;: 

fMil: 

tPtik’ 


ably  only  a  learned  speculation,  indulged  in  to  account  for 
the  zeal  displayed  by  Prometheus  in  the  cause  of  human 
civilization.  It  is  better  to  account  for  that  zeal  by  assum¬ 
ing  Prometheus  to  have  been  originally  a  god  of  hre,  who, 
asserting  his  right  to  employ  that  element  for  the  benefit  of 
mankind,  provoked  the  hostility  of  the  other  gods,  and  from 
that  time  forward  identified  himself  with  the  cause  of  men. 
There  is  good  ground  for  assuming  this  in  the  fact  that  Pro¬ 
metheus  was  intimately  associated  with  Hephaestus  in  the 
very  ancient  worship  of  that  god  in  Lemnos  and  in  Attica. 

While  the  progress  of  civilization,  as  far  as  it  had  depended 
on,  or  could  be  symbolized  by,  fire,  was  connected  with  Pro¬ 
metheus,  the  progress  of  agriculture  in  primitive  times  was 
reflected  in  the  story  of  the  two  giants  Otus  and  Ephialtes, 
sons  of  Aloeus  (the  planter)  and  Iphimeclia.  Small  and  puny 
at  their  birth,  they  grew  quickly,  living  on  grain,  and  soon 
became  the  wonder  of  men  for  their  great  size  and  beauty. 
Finding  that  war  and  agriculture  could  not  go  together,  they 
seized  Ares,  the  god  of  war,  bound  and  confined  him  in  a 
large  brazen  vase  for  thirteen  montlis.  He  would  have  per¬ 
ished  in  it  had  not  Hermes  at  length  heard  of  his  imprison¬ 
ment,  and  set  him  free.  Becoming  more  and  more  arrogant 
in  the  pride  of  their  strength,  the  two  brothers  next  deter¬ 
mined  to  assail  the  immortal  gods  in  Olympus  itself,  and  for 
this  purpose  they  had  placed  Mount  Ossa  on  the  top  of  Mount 
Olympus,  and  upon  Ossa  had  heaped  Mount  Pelion,  when 
the  shafts  of  Apollo  felled  them.  They  perished  in  youth, 
ere  their  beards  had  grown. 


\ 


THE  EAKLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


It  will  be  convenient  to  separate,  for  the  present,  thb 
legends  of  the  adventures  of  Hercules,  together  with  those 
that  relate  to  combined  expeditions  of  heroes  from  different, 
districts  such  as  the  expedition  of  the  Argonauts — from  the 
othei  legends  of  this  earlier  race  of  heroes,  and  to  arrange 
the  latter  class  according  to  the  localities  assigned  as  the 
principal  scenes  of  their  actions,  beginning  with 


(a)  ARGOS. 

At  the  head  of  the  Argive  line  of  heroes  stands  Inachus, 
the  river-god,  a  son  of  Oceanus,  like  all  the  other  river-gods. 
With  the  nymph  Melia  for  his  wife,  he  became  the  father  of 
Phoroneus  and  lo,  of  whom  the  former,  according  to  Argive 
legends,  was  the  first  man  upon  the  earth.  Such  services  as 
Prometheus  was  elsewhere  believed  to  have  rendered  to  earlv 
civilization,  were  there  ascribed  to  Phoroneus.  He  was  re¬ 
puted  to  have  founded  the  town  of  Argos,  and  to  have 
established  there  the  worship  of  Hera.  With  regard  to  lo, 
we  have  already  related  (in  connection  with  Hermes)  how  she 
was  loved  by  Zeus,  and,  to  escape  the  jealousy  of  Hera,  was 
transformed  by  him  into  a  cow — how  Hera,  discovering  the 
transformation,  set  a  watch  over  lo,  in  the  person  of  Argus, 
a  giant  with  a  hundred  eyes,  and  how  Hermes  slew  the 
watchman  and  released  lo.  Another  version  of  the  story 
says  that  it  was  Hera  who  transformed  lo  into  a  cow,  for  the 
purpose  of  thwarting  the  love  of  Zeus  for  her.  Argus  had 

(  239) 


240 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


c  :i' 

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tethered  her  to  an  olive-tree  in  a  grove  sacred  to  Hera,  be¬ 
tween  the  towns  of  Mycenae  and  Argos,  and  was  there  keep¬ 
ing  guard  when  Hermes  arrived  and  slew  him.  Though  set 
free,  lo  did  not  yet  regain  her  human  form,  but  was  com¬ 
pelled  to  wander  through  distant  lands  in  the  form  of  a  white 
horned  cow,  goaded  by  a  vexatious  insect  sent  by  Hera.  At 
last,  on  reaching  Egypt,  she  obtained  rest,  was  restored  to 
her  human  form,  and  became  the  mother  of  Bpaphus. 

lo,  the  white  horned  cow,  appears  to  have  been  a  personifi¬ 
cation  of  the  moon,  like  the  Phoenician  goddess  Astarfe, 
who  was  also  represented  in  this  form.  Her  wanderings 
were  like  the  wanderings  of  the  moon.  Hera,  who  punished 
her,  was  the  supreme  goddess  of  the  heavens.  Argus,  with 
his  many  eyes,  reminds  us  of  the  stars.  The  slaying  of 
Argus  by  Hermes  was  a  favorite  subject  with  ancient  artists. 

Epaphus  became  king  of  Egypt,  and  had  a  daughter 
called  Libya  (after  the  district  of  that  name  on  the  shore  of 
the  Mediterranean),  who  bore  to  Poseidon,  the  sea-god,  two 
sons — Agenor  and  Belus.  While  the  former  became  the 
head  of  a  race  that  spread  over  Phoenicia,  Cilicia,  and  on  to 
Thebes  in  Greece,  Belus  remained  in  Egypt,  succeeded  to  the 
throne,  and  marrying  Anchinoe,  a  daughter  of  the  Nile, 
had  two  sons,  Aegyptus  and  Danaus.  The  latter  was  ap¬ 
pointed  to  rule  over  Arabia,  the  former  over  Libya.  Aegyp- 
tus  had  fifty  sons,  and  Danaus  the  same  number  of  daughters. 
A  dispute  arose  between  the  two  families,  and  Danaus  yiela- 
ing  took  ship  with  his  daughters  and  sailed  to  Argos,  pursued 
all  the  way  by  the  sons  of  Aegyptus.  At  Argos,  the  home 
of  his  race,  he  was  kindly  received  by  the  reigning  king,  and 
protected  against  the  pursuers. 

At  that  time  the  district  of  Argos  was  suffering  from  a 
drought  which  Poseidon  had  angrily  caused.  Danaus  sent 
out  his  daughters  to  search  for  a  spring,  and  while  they  were 
so  engaged  it  happened  that  one  of  them,  Amymone,  throw¬ 
ing  her  spear  at  a  stag,  missed  it,  and  hit  a  Satyr  who  was 
asleep  in  the  brake.  Pursued  by  the  Satyr,  she  called  on 


DANA  US. 


241 


\ 


the  name  of  Poseidon  for  help,  and  the  god  instantly  ap¬ 
peared,  drove  off  the  Satyr,  and  for  love  of  the  beautiful 
Danaid  caused  a  perennial  spring  to  flow  at  Lerna,  where  he 
met  her.  Amy m  one  bore  to  Poseidon  Nauplius,  the  wrecker 
of  Nauplia,  who  by  false  lights  misled  many  ships  to  their 
destruction  among  the  rocks,  and  enriched  himself  from  their 
cargoes.  By  a  singular  fatality  he  perished  in  this  way 
himself  at  last.  He  had  three  sons  :  Palamedes,  celebrated 
for  his  inventive  faculty,  Oiax,  the  steersman,  and  Nausime- 
don,  the  ship  captain. 

Meantime  the  sons  of  Aegyptus,  it  is  said,  having  besieged 
Argos  for  some  time,  at  length  proposed  to  forget  their  differ¬ 
ence  with  Danaus,  and  to  marry  his  daughters.  Without 
relenting  in  the  least,  he  agreed  to  give  his  daughters  to  them 
in  marriage,  but  to  each  daughter  he  presented  a  knife,  and 
commanded  them  all  to  slay  each  her  own  husband  on  the 
marriage  night.  All  obeyed  his  order  except  Hypermnestra, 
who,  preferring  to  be  regarded  as  of  weak  resolution  than  as 
a  murderess,  spared  her  husband,  Lynceus,  and  became  the 
mother  of  the  Argive  line  of  kings.  While  Zeus  approved 
the  murderous  deed  of  her  forty-nine  sisters,  and  sent  Athene 
and  Hermes  to  give  them  expiation,  Hypermnestra  was  cast 
into  a  dungeon  by  her  indignant  father,  her  husband,  Lyn¬ 
ceus,  saving  himself  by  flight.  On  being  brought  to  trial 
she  was,  however,  publicly  acquitted  ;  her  husband,  returning 
to  Argos,  succeeded  Danaus  on  the  throne,  and  in  after  times 
was  widely  respected,  among  other  things  for  having  founded 
the  great  festival  in  honor  of  the  Argive  Hera.  The  prize 
of  victory  in  the  games  that  accompanied  that  festival  was  a 
shield,  not  a  wreath,  as  was  elsewhere  usual;  the  tradition 
being  that  on  the  first  occasion  of  these  games  Lynceus  pre¬ 
sented  his  son  Abas  with  the  shield  which  had  belonged  to 
Danaus. 

Whether  it  was  to  obtain  husbands  for  his  daughters  who 
accomplished  their  own  widowhood,  or  whether  it  was  to 
decide  among  a  multitude  of  suitors  for  their  hands,  Danaus 


242 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


held  a  kind  of  tournament,  the  victors  in  which  were  to  be 
accepted  as  husbands.  On  the  morning  of  the  contest  he 
ranged  his  daughters  together  on  the  course,  and  by  noon 
each  had  been  carried  ofl  by  a  victorious  athlete,  a  scion  of 
some  noble  house. 

It  was  said  that  after  death  the  Danaides,  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  Hypermnestra,  were  punished  in  Tartarus  by  having 
continually  to  carry  water,  and  pour  it  in  the  vain  endeavor 
of  filling  a  broken  cistern.  It  may  be  that  this  form  of 
punishment  was  selected  for  them  as  the  most  suitable  for 
women,  who  generally  in  Greece  were  the  drawers  of  water. 
At  the  same  time  it  was  very  suggestive  of  the  dry  parched 
I  soil  of  Argos,  the  streams  of  which  were  always  dried  up  in 
|i  summer. 

From  Abas,  the  son  of  Hypermnestra  and  Lynceus,  sprang 
-  I  the  brothers  Acrisius  and  Proetus,  famous  for  their  hatred 

1e  of  each  other  from  infancy  onward.  When  they  had  grown 

Proetus,  finding  himself  constantly  defeated  in  the  fra- 
ternal  encounters,  fled  to  Lycia,  and  was  there  hospitably 
liui!  received  by  the  king,  lobates,  and  the  queen,  Amphianax, 
"fS-S  whose  daughter,  Stheneboea,  he  married.  With  the  assist- 

ance  of  a  Lycian  army  he  was  reinstated  in  his  rights  of  sover- 
S:  eingty  over  Argos  and  Corinth,  fortifying  himself  in  the 

citadel  of  Tiryns,  while  his  brother  Acrisius  held  out  in  that 
Larissa.  Of  both  citadels  the  massive  structures  now  in 
cfSii  ruins  still  bear  witness  to  the  fierce  assaults  which  must  have 
been  made  upon  them. 

Proetus  had  three  daughters,  whose  exceeding  beauty  made 
IS.  them  prizes  which  the  noblest  youth  of  the  country  sought 

fill  to  win.  But  they  were  haughty,  despised  the  common  usages 

of  the  times,  scorned  to  take  part  in  the  worship  of  Diony¬ 
sus,  and  made  ridicule  of  the  sanctity  of  Hera’s  ancient 
image  and  shrine.  For  this  they  were  punished  by  a  form 
of  insanity  which  drove  them  ever  to  wander  restlessly  among 
the  woods  and  hills  of  Argos  and  Arcadia.  It  is  further  said 
that,  being  under  the  hallucination  that  they  were  cows,  they 


DANAE. 


243 


lowed  like  kine  as  they  wandered  about.  The  father  sum¬ 
moned  Melampus,  the  prophet  and  priest,  to  work  a  cure 
upon  his  daughters,  but  on  the  prophet’s  stipulating  a  third 
of  the  kingdom  as  his  reward,  dismissed  him  again.  The 
evil  grew  worse,  for  the  other  women  of  the  country  began 
to  yield  to  the  infatuation  of  abandoning  their  husbands  and 
slaying  their  children.  Melampus  was  recalled,  and  this 
time  demanded  an  additional  third  of  the  kingdom  for  his 
brother.  Bias.  Proetus  agreed,  and  Melampus,  collecting  a 
body  of  active  youths,  pursued  the  three  princesses  over  the 
mountains,  and  on  to  Sicyon,  where  the  eldest  of  the  three 
died,  and  the  other  two,  after  being  purified,  were  given  in 
marriage  to  Melampus  and  Bias  respectively. 

This  legend  also  would  seem  to  have  originated  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  very  ancient  worship  of  Hera,  as  queen  of 
the  heavens,  at  Argos;  the  wanderings  of  the  three  daugh¬ 
ters  of  Proetus,  under  the  imaginary  form  of  cows,  having 
reference,  like  the  similar  wanderings  of  lo,  to  the  moon. 

Returning  to  Acrisius,  we  find  him  troubled  at  the  prospect 
of  having  no  heir  to  his  throne.  To  his  question  the  oracle 
at  Delphi  replied  that  a  daughter  would  be  born  to  him,  and 
that  she  would  bear  a  son  who  would  slay  his  grandfather, 
and  rule  in  his  stead.  The  daughter,  Dana©  by  name,  was 
born,  and  to  prevent  the  latter  part  of  the  oracle  from  being 
fulfilled,  she  was  imprisoned  in  a  subterranean  chamber. 
But  a  shower  of  gold,  sent  by  Zeus,  penetrated  to  her,  and 
she  became  the  mother  of  an  infant  destined  to  fulfil  the 
oracle  and  to  become  conspicuous  among  the  ancient  heroes. 
He  was  named  Perseus,  probably  with  reference  to  his  being 
a  son  of  Zeus,  the  great  god  of  light,  and  to  his  having  been 
born  in  darkness,  in  which  respect,  as  in  several  others,  he 
may  be  compared  with  Apollo,  whose  mother  was  Leto 
(darkness),  while  his  father  was  Zeus.  The  shower  of  gold 
would  thus  signify  a  beam  of  golden  light. 

Acrisius,  hearing  the  voice  of  the  child,  summoned  his 
daughter  to  the  altar  of  Zeus  to  give  a  solemn  explanation 


244 


m  liK* 

t  Si 

•“  :P 

;:i 

atSlil 

itu:9) 

•itiiC^ 

.r:rC 

c;r» 

D:,S5 

mt. 

■NUI»^ 


Li/ 

CS3^ 


!irjffi»« 

mac: 

az 

tmm 

ftn  un 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 

of  the  circumstance.  Disbelieving  her  story,  he  placed 
mother  and  child  in  a  closed  box,  and  committed  them  to 
the  waves.  After  rocking  about  on  the  bosom  of  the  sea, 
the  box  was  at  last  carried  toward  the  island  of  Seriphus, 
and  was  there  caught  in  a  net  belonging  to  a  fisherman  named 
Dictys,  who  took  the  waifs  to  his  house,  and  acted  kindly 
by  them.  It  was  a  very  barren  island,  affording  little  but 
shelter  to  the  families  of  fishermen  that  inhabited  it.  The 
chief  or  king  of  it  was  Polydectes,  a  brother  of  Dictys,  just 
mentioned,  and  as  notorious  for  the  gaiety  of  his  habits  as  was 
his  brother  for  his  simplicity.  Struck  with  tlie  beauty  of 
Danae,  and  finding  that  her  son  Perseus  stood  in  the  way  of 
the  fulfilment  of  his  desires,  Polydectes  became  anxious  to 
get  rid  of  him,  and  gladly  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity 
that  presented  itself  when  Perseus,  not  to  be  outdone  in  pro¬ 
fessions  of  loyalty,  vowed  that  he  would  even  fetch  the  head 
of  the  Gorgon  Medusa  for  the  king,  should  he  wish  it. 

Perseus  set  forth  sadly  on  his  mission,  but  took  courage 
when  Hermes  and  Athene,  who  often  lent  their  aid  in  heroic 
adventures,  appeared  to  him,  and  led  him  to  where  the 
Graeae  liv^ed — three  aged  women,  with  only  one  eye  and  one 
tooth  in  common.  Perseus,  seizing  the  indispensable  eye 
and  tooth,  refused  to  give  them  back  until  they  told  him 
where  to  find  the  nymphs  who  had  in  keeping  the  helmet  of 
Hades,  the  winged  shoes,  and  the  pouch  necessary  for  his 
future  movements.  On  arriving  at  where  the  nymphs  lived, 
he  obtained  from  them  the  objects  in  question,  to  which 
Hermes  added  the  knife  {harpe)  with  which  he  had  cut  off 
the  head  of  Argus.  Buckling  on  the  winged  shoes,  he  pro¬ 
ceeded  toward  the  Gorgons  with  the  speed  of  a  bird,  the 
helmet  of  Hades  making  him  invisible,  but  concealing  noth¬ 
ing  from  his  sight.  It  is  further  said  that  Athene  instructed 
him  how  to  approach  Medusa  without  being  petrified,  as  was 
usual,  by  her  stare.  To  this  end  she  gave  him  a  shield  of 
polished  brass,  on  which,  as  in  a  mirror,  he  could  see  the 
reflection  of  the  Gorgon,  while  he  himself,  unseen,  advanced 


PERSEUS. 


245 


and  cut  off  her  head.  The  instant  he  had  done  this  there 
sprang  from  the  trunk  of  Medusa  Pegasus,  the  winged  horse, 
and  Chrysaor,  the  father  of  Geryoneus.  Perseus,  placing 
the  head  quickly  into  the  pouch  which  the  nymphs  had 
given  him,  hastened  from  the  scene,  pursued  by  the  two 
sisters  of  Medusa  for  some  distance. 

Among  his  adventures  on  the  way  back  to  Seriphus  were 
the  turning  of  Atlas  into  stone  because  the  giant  refused  to  re- 
^ceive  him  hospitably,  and  the  release  of  Andromeda,  whom 
he  found,  on  passing  over  Aethiopia,  bound  to  a  rock  on  the 


Andromeda. 


sea-shore  as  a  victim  to  a  great  sea-monster.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Cepheus  and  Cassiopea,  the  king  and  queen  of 
Aethiopia.  The  latter,  having  vaunted  herself  equal  in  beauty 
to  the  Nereides,  gave  offence  to  them  and  to  Poseidon  also, 
who  thereupon  visited  the  country  with  a  flood,  and  sent  a 
dreadful  monster  from  the  sea  to  destroy  both  men  and  cattle. 
On  appealing  to  the  oracle  of  Ammon  in  Libya,  Cepheus  was 
told  that  the  evil  would  not  abate  until  he  exposed  his  beau¬ 
tiful  daughter,  Andromeda,  to  the  monster.  Compelled  by 


246 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


t  :i' 

li 

;:x;^ 

•fRib 

»•<*(>* 

Kp* 

c 


iKUl 

ifl 


'i 


D,?5 

Mir. 

mmk  ir^ 

«i;hk» 

«u 

inllHW) 

tin 


ijrJS'M 

'itiC 

>Km 

flMItV 


his  subjects  to  yield,  the  luckless  father  took  her  to  the  shore, 
and  chained  her  to  a  rock,  in  the  position  in  which  Perseus 
found  her.  Struck  with  her  beauty,  Perseus  undertook  to 
save  her  on  condition  that  she  should  become  his  wife. 
Cepheus  agreed  to  this,  and  Perseus,  after  slaying  the  mon¬ 
ster,  unchained  the  maiden.  She  had,  however,  been  engaged 
beforehand  to  Phineus,  her  father’s  brother,  who,  arriving 
with  a  strong  body  of  soldiers,  burst  in  upon  the  marriage 
feast.  But  the  sight  of  the  Gorgon’s  head  turned  them  all 
to  stoue,  and  Perseus  triumphantly  carried  off  his  bride. 

Arriving  at  Seriphus,  he  found  that  his  mother  and  Dictys 
were  being  persecuted  by  Polydectes,  and  obliged  to  s<3ek 
protection  at  the  altars  of  the  gods.  His  course  was  to 
announce  his  arrival  to  the  king,  who  at  once  assembled  his 
nobles  to  witness  how  the  young  hero  had  kept  his  word. 
Perseus  appeared  in  the  assembly,  and,  producing  the  Gor¬ 
gon’s  head,  turned  the  king  and  all  his  nobles  instantly  to 
stone.  Not  content  with  punishing  in  this  manner  the  prin¬ 
cipal  persecutors  of  his  mother,  Perseus  is  said  to  have 
ti  rned  the  island  itself  into  a  great  barren  rock,  and  to  have 
spared  only  the  excellent  Dictys  and  the  fishing  population 
attached  to  him.  Even  the  frogs  of  the  island  became  dumb, 
said  an  ancient  proverb. 

Having  thus  fulfilled  his  promise,  and  rescued  his  mother, 
Perseus  handed  over  the  winged  shoes,  the  pouch,  and  the 
helmet  that  made  him  invisible,  to  Hermes,  to  be  restored  to 
the  nymphs.  The  head  of  Medusa  he  gave  to  Athene,  who 
ever  after  wore  it  on  her  shield.  Accompanied  by  Danae 
^nd  Andromeda,  he  set  out  for  Argos  to  find  his  grandfather, 
Acrisius,  who,  however,  in  the  meantime  having  left  Argos 
in  consequence  of  an  increasing  dread  lest  the  oracle  should 
be  fulfilled  regarding  his  death,  had  established  himself  at 
Larissa  in  Thessaly.  Thither  Perseus  proceeded,  and  found, 
on  his  arrival,  the  king,  Teutamias,  occupied  with  public 
games  in  honor  of  his  deceased  father.  Perseus  took  part  in 
the  games,  and  by  a  fatality  which  justified  the  oracle,  the 


PERSEUS. 


247 


disc  which  he  threw  fell  upon  the  foot  of  Acrisius,  and 
caused  his  death.  After  burying  his  grandfather  honorably 
at  Larissa,  Perseus  returned  to  Argos  to  his  mother  and  wife, 


Perseus. 


but  instead  of  establishing  himself  there,  exchanged  Argos 
for  Tiryns,  which  was  then  held  by  Megapenthes,  a  son  of 


248 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


Proetus,  and  soon  after  founded  the  ancient  Mycenae,  with 
its  massive  walls. 

Perseus  and  Andromeda  had  two  sons — Electryon  and 
Alcaeus.  Alcmene,  the  mother  of  Hercules,  was  a  daughter 
of  the  former,  and  her  husband,  Amphitryon,  a  son  of  the 
latter.  It  Avas  also  said  that  before  leaving  the  court  of  her 
father,  Cepheus,  Andromeda  had  borne  a  son,  whom  they 
called  Perses,  and  left  behind  with  his  grandfather.  From 
this  Perses  the  Persian  kings  traced  their  lineage.  The 
kings  of  Pontus  and  Cappadocia,  claiming  the  same  descent, 
introduced  a  figure  of  Perseus  on  their  coins.  In  Tarsus 
and  in  Egypt  also  were  traditions  of  ancient  benefits  derived 
from  the  Greek  hero. 

While  the  wanderings  of  lo  remind  us  of  the  wanderings 
of  the  moon,  and  lead  us  to  connect  the  origin  of  the  legends 
^  concerning  her  with  the  worship  of  Hera  at  Argos,  the  ad  ven- 

C  !l  tures  of  Perseus  similarly  suggest  the  apparent  movement  of 
lilw  effect  of  his  liglit,  particularly  in  slaying 

iiil"  dread  monsters  with  which  the  imagination  peoples  dark- 

I'xl  ness.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  origin  of  the  belief 
!fr'"  these  adventures  must  have  had  some  connection  with  the 

Argive  worship  of  Zeus  and  Athene. 

His  adventures,  either  as  an  entire  story  or  in  parts,  formed 
2£jji  a  most  attractive  subject  to  ancient  poeis,  and  were  frequently 
represented  in  works  of  art,  many  of  which  we  still  possess. 
C)ne  of  the  earliest  examples  of  Greek  sculpture  to  which  an 
approximate  date  can  be  assigned  is  a  group  on  a  temple  at 
Selin  us  in  Sicily,  which  represents  him  cutting  off  the  Gor- 
irSijJ  gon’s  head,  and  belongs  to  the  seventh  century  B.  C. 
t!*?:  figured  holding  the  head  of  Medusa  in  one 

hand  and  the  curved  sword  in  the  other, 

$9*  iim 


SISYPHUS  AND  AS  OP  US. 


249 


(6)  COBINTH. 

Owing  to  its  convGiiiont  situation  on  tliG  isthmus  bctwGGn 
two  seas,  Corinth  was  from  very  early  times  an  important 
seat  of  commerce  j  and  as  such  being  chiefly  dependent  for 
its  prosperity  on  the  benignity  of  the  sea-god  Poseidon,  had 
at  an  early  period  established  his  worship,  and  exalted  him 
as  its  principal  god.  In  the  legends  concerning  the  Corin¬ 
thian  heroes  we  would,  therefore,  expect  to  find  decided  traces 
of  this  worship,  just  as  in  those  of  Argos  we  found  traces  of 
the  early  worship  of  Hera. 

With  regard  to  Sisyphus,  the  first  of  these  heroes,  the 
legend  was  that  he  had  chanced  to  see  Zeus  carrying  off 
Aegina,  the  daughter  of  the  river-god  Asopus,  and  having 
marked  the  direction  of  their  flight  as  toward  the  island  of 
Aegina,  determined  to  make  capital  of  his  knowledge,  by 
informing  Asopus  of  what  he  had  seen,  on  condition  that 
the  river-god  would  create  a  spring  of  water  on  the  parched 
citadel  of  Corinth— Acrocorinth  as  it  was  called.  The  terms 
were  agreed  to,  and  Sisyphus  at  once  secured  the  afterward 
famous  fountain  of  Peirene.  But  Zeus  could  not  permit  the 
act  of  treachery  to  pass  unpunished.  He  sent  the  god  or 
daemon  of  death  to  claim  him.  Instead  of  yielding,  Sisy¬ 
phus  bound  the  daemon  with  strong  chains,  and  retained  him, 
no  one  dying  in  the  meantime,  till  Ares  arrived  and  broke 
the  chains.  Sisyphus  was  then  handed  over  to  the  daemon, 
l)ut  before  departing  charged  his  wife,  Merope,  not  to  offer 
the  customary  sacrifices  for  the  dead,  and  thus  to  disappoint 
Pluto  and  Persephone.  Arrived  in  Hades,  he  began  to  i 

denounce  this  neglect  on  the  part  of  his  wife,  and  repeated  *' 

his  complaint  so  often  that  he  was  at  last  allowed  to  return  f'l 
to  the  upper  world.  Another  version  of  the  story  has  it 
that  Hercules  carried  him  off  by  force  from  Hades.  In 
either  case  he  returned  to  Corinth,  lived  to  an  advanced  age, 
and  after  death  was  punished  as  we  have  already  related,  by 


250 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


having  to  roll  a  huge  stone  up  a  height^  which  when  it  had 
gained  the  summit  immediately  rolled  back.  ,, 

It  may  be  that  the  idea  of  such  a  punishment  was  sug-  H 
gested  by  the  backward  and  forward  rolling  of  stones  by  [i 
the  treacherous  waves  on  the  shore.  At  any  rate,  we  find  a  i 
connection  of  Sisyphus  with  the  worship  of  Poseidon  in  the  j 
statement  that  he,  at  the  command  of  the  Nereides,  received  | 
the  dead  body  of  Melicertes  from  his  mother,  and  instituted  i; 
in  his  honor  the  Isthmian  games,  which  afterward  were  held  | 
in  honor  of  Poseidon. 

More  directly  connected  with  the  worship  of  the  sea-god  ; 
is  the  legend  of  Glaucus,  the  son  of  Sisyphus.  The  refer-  f 
ence  in  his  name  to  the  color  of  the  sea  is  strengthened  by  , 
the  title  of  Pontius,  which  he  bore,  and  yet  it  was  not  with 
the  sea  directly,  but  with  horses,  the  accredited  symbols  of 
the  waves,  that  he  is  associated.  For  some  reason — from 
having  been  fed  on  human  flesh,  according  to  one  report — 
his  horses  became  furious,  and  tore  their  master  to  pieces 
In  after  times  his  name  was  a  terror  to  equestrians  in  the 
hippodromes,  the  current  belief  being  that  Glaucus  survived 
as  an  evil  spirit  wandering  about  and  frightening  horses. 

A  figure  of  far  greater  importance  than  Glaucus  in  the 
legendary  history  of  Corinth  was  his  son  Bellerophon. 
Not  that  Corinth  had  been  to  any  extent  the  scene  of  his 
exploits;  for,  except  the  incident  of  the  bridling  of  Pegasus, 
his  memorable  adventures  were  all  conducted  elsewhere — in 
Argos  at  first,  and  afterward  in  Lycia.  His  story  was,  more¬ 
over,  strangely  blended  with  that  of  the  Argive  Perseus.  It 
may  be  that  the  proximity  of  the  two  towns,  and  the  polit¬ 
ical  dependence  of  Corinth  on  Argos,  wrought  in  time  an 
assimilation  in  the  legends  of  the  two  heroes  originally  quite 
distinct.  Or,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  that  the  differ¬ 
ence  in  the  pursuits  and  religious  inclinations  of  the  two 
towns  acted  on  the  imagination  in  such  a  way  as  to  alter  a 
legend  originally  common  to  both,  so  much  that  each  might 
in  time  fairly  claim  a  separate  hero  of  its  own.  Whicheve?* 


BELLEROPHON. 


251 


way  it  may  have  been,  the  Corinthians  were  proud  of  Beller- 
ophon,  and  in  early  times  had  a  figure  of  his  horse  Pegasus, 
on  their  coins. 


already  related  how  it  sprang  from  tlie  neck  of  the  Gorgon 
Medusa,  wlien  Perseus  cut  her  head  off.  The  legend  pro¬ 
ceeds  to  tell  how  it  flew  through  the  air,  and  did  not  set  foot 
on  earth  until  it  reached  the  citadel  of  Corinth,  where  it 
halted  to  quench  its  thirst  at  the  famous  fountian  of  Peirene. 

Murray — iq 


With  regard  to  that  wonderful  winged  horse,  we  have 


252 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


Bellerophon,  after  trying  in  vain  to  catch  it,  applied  to  the 
seer  Poly  id  us  for  advice,  and  was  told  to  lay  himself  down 
to  sleep  at  night  beside  the  altar  of  Athene.  This  he  did, 
and  in  the  course  of  his  sleep  dreamed  that  the  goddess  came 
and  gave  him  a  golden  bridle,  bidding  him  show  it  to  his 
father,  Poseidon,  and  at  the  same  time  sacrifice  a  white  ox 
to  him.  Waking,  he  found  the  bridle,  sacrificed  the  ox,  and, 
on  the  advice  of  the  seer,  dedicated  an  altar  to  Athene.  The 
horse  at  once  took  the  bit,  and  from  that  time  proved  of 
great  service  to  its  master. 

According  to  the  ancient  derivation,  the  name  of  Beller- 
ophon  signifies  the  slayer  of  Belleros,^’  the  story  being  that 
he  had  accidentally  caused  the  death  of  a  person  of  that  name, 
either  his  own  brother  or  a  Corinthian  noble.  To  obtain 
the  necessary  purification,  he  repaired  to  Argos,  and  was 
there  kindly  received  by  Proetus,  the  reigning  king.  Unfor¬ 
tunately,  however,  the  wife  of  Proetus,  Stheneboea  (or,  as 
Homer  calls  her,  Anteia),  resembled  Potiphar’s  wife  in  the 
bent  of  her  passions,  and  finding  the  young  hero  firm  against 
her  temptations,  resolved  to  accomplish  his  ruin,  to  this  end 
charging  him  before  the  king  with  an  attempt  to  violate  her. 
Proetus,  on  hearing  the  charge,  decided  to  send  the  youth  to 
Lycia,  to  the  court  of  lobates,  the  father  of  Stheneboea,  with 
a  letter  written  in  strange  characters,  in  which  the  Lycian 
king  was  instructed  to  compass  the  death  of  the  bearer.  The 
parting  scene,  where  Bellerophon  receives  the  letter,  and 
Stheneboea  still  gazes  affectionately  on  him,  is  represented 
on  several  ancient  painted  vases. 

Arriving  at  the  Lycian  court,  Bellerophon  was  entertained 
hospitably  for  nine  days.  On  the  tenth  day  the  king  inquired 
the  business  of  his  guest,  and  received  the  letter  of  Proetus. 
Acting  on  the  instructions  of  the  letter,  lobates  despatched 
him  with  orders  to  slay  the  Chimaera*  (a  monster  composed 

*  It  was  represented  in  art  as  a  lion  with  a  goat’s  head  springing  from  its  back. 
The  statement  of  its  spitting  fire  may  have  reference  to  the  volcanic  features  of 
Lycia. 


BELLEROPHON. 


253 


of  a  lion  in  front,  a  goat  in  the  middle,  and  a  serpent  be¬ 
hind),  which  infested  the  mountains,  and  slaughtered  all  who 
attacked  it.  But  Pegasus  carried  his  master  up  in  the  air 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  monster,  and  yet  not  too  far  for  his 
spear  to  have  deadly  effect.  Bellerophon  returned  trium¬ 
phant.  Though  his  scheme  had  not  succeeded,  the  king  had 
at  any  rate  got  rid  of  a  terrible  enemy  to  his  subjects,  and 
determined  a  second  time  to  profit  by  the  prowess  of  the 
young  hero,  if  he  should  fail  in  causing  his  death.  Accord¬ 
ingly  he  sent  him  to  fight  against  the  Solymi,  a  hostile  neigh¬ 
boring  tribe,  from  which  he 
again  returned  victorious. 

With  like  success  he  fought 
against  the  Amazons,  those 
warlike  women  of  Asia 
Minor,  whom  the  ancient 
poets  and  artists  delighted 
to  represent  as  fighting 
stoutly  against  the  best  he¬ 
roes  of  Greece,  but  always 
being  vanquished.  With 
this  result  they  opposed,  for 

example,  Hercules  and  The-  Pegasus,  and  the  Chimaera. 

sens,  -and  afterward,  in  the 
Trojan  war,  took  part  against  the  Greeks.  It  would  seem 
from  their  connection  with  the  Ephesian  Artemis,  among 
other  reasons,  that  the  legends  concerning  them  originated 
in  the  worship  of  the  moon  goddess. 

In  a  last  effort  to  secure  the  death  of  Bellerophon,  the 
Lycian  king  planned  an  ambush  for  him  of  his  bravest 
knights,  all  of  whom,  when  the  time  came,  perished  at  the 
hands  of  the  hero,  who,  it  then  became  clear,  could  be  no 
other  than  the  son  of  a  god.  Instead  of  being  put  to  further 
encounters,  he  received  the  hand  of  the  king’s  daughter  in 
marriage,  and  with  her  the  half  of  the  kingdom.  The  grate¬ 
ful  Lycians  bestowed  on  him  a  large  estate,  well  wooded  and 


254 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


fitted  for  agriculture.  His  wife  bore  him  three  blooming 
children  :  Isander,  Hippolochus,  and  Laodamia.  In 
short,  he  had  reached  the  pinnacle  of  happiness.  But  the 
gods  prepared  a  catastrophe  for  him.  He  became  insane, 
and  wandered  about  sad  and  alone,  avoiding  the  company  of 
men.  His  son  Isander  was  slain  by  Ares,  his  daughter  Lao¬ 
damia,  by  Artemis.  According  to  another  report,  repeated 
success  in  hazardous  adventures  had  inflamed  him  with  the 
desire  to  mount  to  Olympus  on  the  back  of  his  wonderful 
horse.  In  the  attempt  he  fell  to  earth,  smitten  by  the  thun¬ 
derbolt  of  Zeus,  and  died. 


(c)  THEBES. 

It  is  a  relief  to  turn  from  the  bloodshed  and  perilous  ad veu . 
J  j|t  tures  of  the  Corinthian  and  Argive  heroes  to  the  compara- 

#  £  lively  tranquil  tone  of  the  Theban  legends,  with  all  the^r 

variety  of  character  and  incident.  We  would  not  be  under- 
stood  to  say  that  the  tales  of  Thebes  are  free  from  horrors, 
t'-fj  but  only  that  the  general  impression  left,  especially  by  the 
earliest  of  them,  concerns  the  daring  and  achievements  of 
SS  rather  than  the  exploits  of  physical  courage. 

First  among  the  heroes  of  Thebes  is  Cadmus,  the  founder 
of  the  ancient  city — the  Cadmeia,  as  it  was  called — who, 
ZZ  rendering  important  services  to  the  population  gath- 

CJ3P  ered  round  him  there  in  the  management  of  their  public 
affairs,  is  said  to  have  conferred  on  Greece  generally  an 
tiff*  blessing  in  the  form  of  an  alphabet,  or  means  of 

thoughts  in  writing,  previously  unknown  in 
Si'  land.  It  is  this  alphabet,  more  or  less  modified,  that 
'  we  still  employ.  That  he  found  the  letters  of  it  in  use 
among  the  Phoenician  traders  who  visited  Greece  in  remote 
early  times,  establishing  factories  in  many  places — among 
others,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Thebes — is  probable;  but  to 
believe^  as  the  Greeks  did,  that  Cadmus  was  a  Phoenician  by 


CADMUS. 


255 


birth,  and  that  the  system  of  civilization  which  he  introduced 
was,  like  the  alphabet,  Phoenician,  was  only  another  instance 
of  the  readiness  with  which  the  Greeks  listened  to  stories 
that  traced  the  beginnings  of  their  civilization  back  to  the 
influence  of  the  more  ancient  nations  of  the  East. 

The  genealogy  of  Cadmus,  according  to  the  legend,  com¬ 
menced  with  the  sea-god  Poseidon  and  Libya,  who  had  two 
sons— Belus  (Baal)  and  Agenor;  the  former  becoming  king 
of  Egypt,  the  latter  of  Phoenicia.  By  his  wife,  Telephassa, 


Agenor  had  one  daughter — Europa — and  three  sons — Cad¬ 
mus,  Phoenix,  and  Cilix.  The  sister  having  disappeared — 
carried  off,  it  was  said,  on  the  back  of  a  white  bnll,  into 
which  Zeus  had  transformed  himself  for  love  of  her — the 
brothers  were  sent  to  search  for  her  in  different  directions. 
Phoenix  and  Cilix,  wearied  of  searching  in  vain,  settled 
down  in  the  countries  named  after  them,  while  Cadmus, 
accompanied  by  his  mother,  proceeded  through  the  Greek 
islands  northward  to  the  coast  of  Thrace.  There  his  mother 
died  and  was  buried.  He  proceeded  to  Delphi,  to  ask  the 


II, 

ift 


IK 


256  the  earlier  race  OF  HEROES. 

oracle  concerning  his  sister.  The  advice  was  to  search  no 
longer,  bat  to  follow  a  cow  which  should  come  in  his  way, 
and  where  it  lay  down  to  rest  there  to  found  a  city.  Leav¬ 
ing  Delphi,  he  saw  a  cow,  and  followed  it  through  Boeotia, 
till  it  reached  the  place  where  Thebes  was  afterward  built, 
and  there  lay  down.  Intending  to  sacrifice  the  cow  in  honoi 
of  Athene,  his  protecting  goddess,  Cadmus  sent  his  attend¬ 
ants  to  a  fountain  not  far  off  to  fetch  water.  It  happened, 
however,  that  the  fountain  was  watched  by  a  terrible  dragon, 


c  :i 

;£ 

tiuii* 

s 

•iiat: 

irtm 


«l 


CSSP 

»» 

«>  ^|l 


n»»  ^  . 

wtac, 

fitwiul 


Cadmus  Slays  the  Dragon. 

which  killed  his  men.  With  the  aid  of  Athene,  Cadmus  slew 
the  monster,  and,  at  the  command  of  the  goddess,  sowed  its 
teeth  in  the  ground,  from  which  there  instantly  sprang  a 
number  of  wild  armed  giants,  called  Spartae.  By  throwing 
a  stone  among  them,  Cadmus  so  roused  their  passions  that 
they  fell  upon  each  other  with  such  fury  and  effect  that  only 
five  of  them  survived.  From  these  five  the  noblest  families 
of  Thebes  afterward  traced  their  lineage. 


LAOCOON. 


GAD  MVS. 


257 


To  appease  Ares,  whose  dragon  he  had  slain,  Cadmus  was 
compelled  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  that  god  for 
eight  years,  or  a  long  year,’’  as  it  was  called,  the  usual 
period  prescribed  for  penance  in  such  cases.  His  term  of 
service  having  expired,  he  was  raised  by  Athene  to  the  throne 
of  Thebes;  and  to  complete  his  happiness  Zeus  gave  him 
Harmonia,  the  beautiful  daughter  of  Ares  and  Aphrodite, 
for  his  wife.  The  gods  of  Olympus  went  to  the  marriage 
feast,  and  made  presents  to  the  pair.  The  Muses  sang  a 
marriage  song.  The  gift  of  Cadmus  to  his  wife  consisted 
of  a  splendid  dress  {peplos),  which  Athene  had  worked  for 
him,  and  the  famous  necklace  made  by  Hephaestus.  From 
the  marriage  sprang  four  daughters — Semele,  Ino,  Autonoe, 
Agave — and  one  son — Polydorus. 

Autonoe  married  Aristaeus,  to  whom  she  bore  Actaeon, 
the  young  huntsman  who,  for  the  misfortune  of  having  once 
seen  Artemis  bathing,  was  transformed  into  a  stag,  and  de¬ 
voured  by  his  own  hounds.  Ino  married  Athamas,  of  whom 
it  is  said  that,  being  seized  of  a  frenzy,  he  pursued  his  wife 
to  do  her  violence,  and  that  she  eluded  him  by  leaping  into 
the  sea,  after  which  she  was  regarded  as  a  marine  goddess 
under  the  name  of  Leucothea.  Semele  became  the  mother 
of  the  wine-god  Dionysus,  and  at  the  birth  of  her  child  was, 
as  has  been  already  related,  struck  dead  by  the  thunderbolt 
of  Zeus.  Agave,  marrying  Echion,  one  of  the  five  surviv¬ 
ing  Spartae,  became  the  mother  of  Pentheus,  who,  after  the 
death  of  Polydorus,  succeeded  to  the  sovereignty  of  Thebes. 

Semele  being  dead,  her  statement  that  Zeus  himself  was 
the  father  of  her  child  was  disbelieved  by  her  sisters,  espe¬ 
cially  by  Agave.  But  after  her  son  Dionysus  had  grown 
up,  and  returned  to  Thebes  from  his  triumphant  journey 
eastward  to  India,  Agave  and  the  other  women  of  Thebes 
changed  their  minds,  and  embraced  his  worship  Avith  its 
extravagant  rites.  Pentheus,  then  king  of  Thebes,  opposed 
the  introduction  of  the  new  religion,  but  in  the  course  of  his 
opposition  was  slain  by  his  mother  and  her  excited  com  pan- 


258 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


0\  MM 

c » 


•isJJCi 

\IX*^ 

e.;8i 


.rpC 

aiS 

DWr. 

m^t 

«t 

MN»  IPMl 

Ur»» 

•U 

Ml  MUjl 


^!SS 

viSNtu 

I II  ■>11*111 

rllDi 


tMiniiiF 


ions.  Labdacus,  the  son  of  Polydorus,  succeeded  to  the 
throne.  Meantime  Agave,  recovering  her  senses  under  the 
aiHiction,  fled  to  Illyrium. 

Grief  at  the  calamities  that  fell  so  thickly  on  their  chil¬ 
dren  at  last  drove  Cadmus  and  Harmonia  from  Thebes. 
They  wandered  to  Illyrium,  and  there  found  peace  in  the 
grave.  Their  bodies,  it  was  believed,  had  been  transformed 
into  two  snakes  that  lay  beside  their  tomb,  while  their  spirits 
had  been  placed  in  Elysiuu  by  Zens. 

After  Cadmus,  the  next  figures  of  importance  are  the  twin- 
brothers  Amphion  and  Zethus,  who  resemble  in  many  re¬ 
spects  tlie  great  twin-brethren^’  Castor  and  Pollux,  being 
like  them  represented  riding  on  white  horses,  and  appearing 
with  aid  in  times  of  distress.  Between  the  two  brothers 
there  was  a  great  difference  of  character,  Amphion  being 
devoted  to  music,  and  excelling  in  the  skill  with  which  he 
played  the  lyre  given  him  by  Hermes,  while  Zethus  applied 
himself  wholly  to  rough  life,  such  as  hunting  and  herding. 
What  Zethus  did  by  physical  force,  Amphion  accomplished 
by  the  persuasion  of  his  strains,  as  was  shown  in  the  case 
of  their  building  the  walls  of  Thebes,  the  population  of 
which  had  so  far  outgrown  the  limits  of  the  old  town 
founded  by  Cadmus  as  to  require  new  barriers  against  inva¬ 
sion.  While  Zethus  toiled  in  bringing  huge  stones  for  this 
purpose,  Amphion,  like  Orpheus,  had  only  to  strike  his  lyre, 
and  still  larger  stones  followed  whither  he  led  the  way. 
Such  was  the  story,  the  intention  of  which  seems  to  have 
originally  been  to  point  to  the  combination  of  actual  strength 
with  harmony  in  placing  the  blocks  required  in  good  masonry. 
The  same  idea  recurs  in  the  legend  of  the  building  of  the 
Trojan  walls  by  Apollo  and  Poseidon,  the  former  god  corre¬ 
sponding  to  Amphion  and  the  latter  to  Zethus.  The  seven 
gates  of  Thebes  answered  to  the  seven  strings  of  the  lyre. 

The  mother  of  the  two  Theban  brothers  was  Antiope, 
who,  according  to  an  early  report,  was  a  daughter  of  the 
river-god  Asopus.  In  the  usual  genealogy,  however,  she 


AMPHION  AND  ZETHUS. 


259 


Amphion  and  Zethus, 


260 


THE  EARLIEM  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


was  described  as  a  daughter  of  Thebe  and  Nycteus  (the 
dark  and  stormy who  held  the  office  of  regent  in 
Thebes  during  the  minority  of  Labdacus.  Zeus  having 
approached  Antiope  in  the  form  of  a  Satyr,  she  was  driven  j 
from  her  father’s  house,  and  forced  to  seek  refuge,  which 
she  found  with  Epopeus,  the  king  of  Sicyon.  Under  his 
protection  she  remained  some  time,  the  father  meanwhile  j 
demanding  in  vain  that  she  should  be  given  up  to  him. 
Ultimately  she  was  given  up  to  Lyons  (^^ight”)  the 
brother  of  Nycteus,  but,  as  his  name  implies,  of  quite  an 
opposite  character.  Returning  with  him,  she  gave  birth  to 
twin  boys  on  the  way,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Eleutherae. 
The  infants  were  entrusted  to  a  herdsman  to  be  brought  up. 
The  mother  was  carried  off  to  Thebes,  where,  as  a  contrast  I 
to  the  gentle  treatment  she  had  experienced  from  Lycus,  she  j 
was  subjected  by  his  wife,  Dirce,  to  relentless  cruelty.  After 
enduring  continued  persecution  for  some  years,  Antiope  fled  ! 
from  Thebes,  and  taking  the  direction  of  Mount  Cithaeron,  ' 
where  her  children  had  been  left,  at  last  reached  the  house  ij 
of  the  herdsman  who  had  taken  care  of  them.  She  did  not,^ 
however,  recognize  him,  nor  was  she  aware  that  the  two 
youths,  who  took  kindly  to  her,  were  her  sons.  It  happened 
just  then  that  Dirce,  who  had  come  to  Mount  Cithaeron  to  [ 
take  part  in  some  Bacchic  ceremony,  detected  her  escaped  | 
victim,  and  ordered  the  two  young  herdsmen  to  fetch  a  wild  | 
bull  from  their  herd,  and  to  bind  her  to  its  horns,  that  she  ?l 
might  be  dragged  to  death.  They  would  have  obeyed  her  j 
command,  had  not  the  old  herdsman  at  the  moment  recos:-  I 

o  .  f 

nized  Antiope,  and  revealed  her  as  their  mother.  On  hear-  ii 
ing  the  story  of  her  former  troubles,  Amphion  and  Zethus,  j 
in  their  indignation,  seized  Dirce,  bound  her  to  the  bull  , 
which  they  had  brought,  and  looked  on  while  she  perished 
miserably.  The  legend  adds  that  Dirce  was  transformed 
into  a  fountain,  which  bore  her  name. 

On  the  return  of  Antiope  with  her  sons  to  Thebes,  Lycus  i 
abdicated  in  their  favor,  and  then  commenced  the  building  j 


OEDIPUS. 


261 


of  the  walls,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  Ainphion 
married  Niobe,  the  daughter  of  the  Lydian  king  Tantalus, 
and  had  a  family  of  sons  and  daughters,  whose  beauty,  in 
their  naother^s  eyes,  might  measure  with  that  of  Apollo  and 
A.rtemis.  How  she  was  punishsd  for  her  pride  has  already 
been  related.  After  the  death  of  Amphion  and  Zethus, 
caused,  it  was  said,  by  the  arrows  of  Apollo,  the  sovereignty 
of  Thebes  finally  passed  to  Labdacus,  of  whose  reign  little 
is  said,  his  fame  consisting  chiefly  in  his  being  the  father  of 
Laius  and  grandfather  of  Oedipus. 

This  Laius  married  Jocasta,  a  daughter  of  Menoeceus,  and 
had  by  her  a  son,  Oedipus.  An  oracle  had  said  that  the 
child,  on  growing  to  manhood,  would  cause  the  death  of  his 
father.  To  avert  this  danger,  Laius  exposed  the  newly-born 
infant  on  Mount  Cithaeron,  expecting  it  to  perish.  It  was, 
however,  found  by  some  herdsmen,  conveyed  by  them  to 
Corinth,  and  there  given  over  to  the  king.  Polybus,  whose 
wife  was  childless,  and  took  readily  to  the  castaway.  Arriv¬ 
ing  at  years  of  manhood,  Oedipus  inquired  at  an  oracle  con¬ 
cerning  his  parentage,  and  was  told  in  reply  to  avoid  the  lands 
of  his  ancestors,  for  otherwise  he  would  cause  his  father’s 
death,  and  thereafter  marry  his  own  mother.  Puzzled  by 
an  answer  so  mysterious,  and  being  uncertain  whether  Poly¬ 
bus  might  not  have  been  his  father,  he  left  the  court  at  Cor¬ 
inth,  and  wandered  about  the  country.  In  the  course  of 
his  wanderings  lie  met  Laius  travelling  with  a  retinue.  A 
quarrel  arose  between  Oedipus  and  some  of  the  royal  attend¬ 
ants.  Laius  took  the  part  of  his  men,  and  was  slain  in  the 
fight  by  his  son,  who,  unaware  of  the  blackness  of  the  crime 
he  had  committed,  proceeded  on  his  way  to  Thebes.  There 
he  found  great  distress  prevailing,  in  consequence  of  the  loss 
of  life  caused  by  a  Sphinx — a  monster  with  the  body  of  a 
lion,  and  the  head,  breast,  and  arms  of  a  woman.  This 
creature  had  a  riddle  which  she  propounded  to  all  who 
approached  her,  and  on  their  failing  to  resolve  it,  as  always 
happened,  threw  them  from  the  high  rock  where  she  lived. 


262 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


#  I  MU 

c  :i 

I'i 

•>!<$!« 

M 

0:.tZ 

mht 

ID 

•»»  t^ll 

STJEiw 

iriac 

{.’id 

.Kinsc 
.n  in*. 


Not  so  Oedipus,  who  read  the  riddle  rightly;  upon  which  | 
the  sphinx  cast  herself  from  the  rock,  and  perished.  The  ; 
prize  offered  to  the  man  who  should  succeed  in  getting  rid  | 
of  the  Sphinx  was  the  hand  of  Jocasta,  the  widow  of  Laius, 
along  with  the  throne  of  Thebes.  Oedipus  married  her  and 
fulfilled  the  oracle. 

They  had  two  sons,  Bteocles  and  Polynices,  and  two 
daughters,  Antigone  and  Ismene,  neither  being  aware  of 
the  criminality  of  their  marriage,  until,  on  inquiring  at  the 
oracle  the  cause  of  certain  misfortunes  that  had  befallen  the 
country,  they  received  an  answer  which  revealed  the  facts  in 
all  their  horror.  Jocasta  slew  herself,  while  Oedipus,  after 
putting  out  his  eyes,  forsook  Thebes,  and  wandered  about 
accompanied  by  his  faithful  daughter  Antigone.  His  two 
sons  succeeded  him  in  the  government,  quarrelled  with  each 
other,  however,  and  ultimately  fell,  both  of  them,  in  a  per¬ 
sonal  encounter,  as  we  shall  relate  afterward. 

The  various  acts  of  this  terrible  tragedy  were  reproduced 
on  the  Athenian  stage  with  all  the  poetic  power  of  Aeschylus 
and  Sophocles. 

(d)  THESSALY. 

In  harmony  with  the  wild,  rocky  features  of  the  country, 
the  early  legends  of  Thessaly  tell  of  furious  wars,  in  which 
the  combatants  fought  with  trunks  of  trees,  or  hurled  rocks 
and  even  hills  at  each  other.  It  was  there  that  the  war  of 
the  gods  against  the  Giants  and  Titans  took  place.  There 
the  brothers  Otus  and  Ephialtes  heaped  hill  on  mountain  in 
their  ambition  to  scale  the  heavens.  There  Poseidon  (Nep¬ 
tune)  cleft  the  mountain-range  asunder  with  his  trident,  and 
formed  the  pleasant  vale  of  Tempe.  Mount  Olympus,  with 
its  clouded  summit,  where  the  gods  were  once  supposed  to 
dwell,  was  there,  and  there  also  was  lolcus,  the  seat  of  the 
ancient  race  of  the  Minyae.  Gyrton  was  the  hold  of  the 
Lapithae,  and  the  scene  of  those  combats  between  them  and 


THESSALY. 


263 


the  Centaurs  which  formed  in  after  times  so  attractive  a 
subject  to  Greek  sculptors. 

Among  the  Lapithae  the  two  principal  figures  are  Ixion 
and  his  son,  Pirithous.  Ixion’s  wife  was  Dia,  a  daughter 
of  Deioneus.  Previous  to  the  marriage  he  had  promised 
her  father,  accord¬ 
ing  to  ancient  usage, 
many  valuable  pre¬ 
sents,  which  he  af¬ 
terward  refused  to 
give.  Deioneus  en¬ 
deavored  to  indem¬ 
nify  himself,  but  in 
the  course  of  the 
attempt  perished  in 
a  great  hole,  full  of 
fire,  which  had  been 
cunningly  prepared 
for  him  by  Ixion. 

For  this — the  first 
murder  of  a  rela¬ 
tion,  it  was  be¬ 
lieved,  that  had 
taken  place  in  the 
world  —  Ixion  was 
punished  with  fren¬ 
zy,  and  wandered 
about,  unable  to  ob¬ 
tain  expiation  from 
gods  or  men,  till  at 
last  Zeus  received 
him  compassion¬ 
ately,  and  purified  him.  But  the  purification  was  not  so 
complete  as  to  prevent  him  from  conceiving  a  passion  for 
the  goddess  Hera,  who,  knowing  his  desires,  deceived  him 
with  a  cloud  shaped  like  herself.  From  this  union  sprang 


264 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


liiUii 

c 

:£ 

»aC, 

;;x;^ 

•iris 

«:r» 

VltZ 

w<v<  Mi 

«» 

rnrnm^ 

Iw/^l 

R» 

«>»  MU[k 


i.iac 

••t-nii 

im 


the  race  of  Centaurs.  Ixion,  being  blind  enough  to  boast 
of  his  supposed  success  with  Hera,  was  despatched  by  Zeus  , 
to  Tartarus,  and  there  bound  by  Hermes  to  a  winged  wheel,  j 
which  constantly  revolved,  as  an  eternal  example  of  the  | 
punishment  due  to  such  crime.  I 

The  same  passion  for  a  goddess  descended  to  his  son  Piri-  i 
thous,  who  tried  to  carry  off  Persephone  from  Hades,  for  i 
which  he  was  placed  in  chains  in  Tartarus.  But  the  event  I 
on  which  his  fame  chiefly  turns  was  his  marriage  with  Dei-  | 
damia.  By  his  invitation  the  Centaurs  of  the  neighboring  I 
mountains  went  to  the  banquet,  and,  being  unused  to  the  i 
influence  of  wine,  could  not  suppress  excitement.  The  wild  ! 
Eurytion  laid  hold  of  the  bride,  his  fellows  rushed  toward 
her  maidens,  and  a  scene  of  grand  confusion  took  place;  |i 
Pirithous  and  the  Lapithae,  with  the  help  of  his  friend 
Theseus,  from  Attica,  at  last  succeeded  in  driving  the 
Centaurs  away. 

Of  Caeneus,  another  of  the  Lapithae,  it  is  related  that,  hav-  j 
ing  been  originally  a  beautiful  virgin,  she  was  changed  into  'i 
a  man  by  Poseidon,  and  made  invulnerable,  as  v'as  proved  in  : 
a  flght  with  the  Centaurs;  for,  in  spite  of  the  rocks  and  trunks 
of  trees  which  they  struck  him  with,  and  heaped  above  him, 
he  remained  un wounded,  and  sank  into  the  earth  alive — a  [ 
scene  represented  in  several  ancient  works  of  sculpture  and  ■ 
vase-painting  still  in  existence.  ^ 

With  regard  to  the  Centaurs,  the  usual  form  in  which  they 
were  represented  was  that  of  the  body  and  legs  of  a  horse, 
with  the  head,  arms,  and  body  of  a  man  down  to  the  waist.  ; 
In  early  works  of  art,  however,  they  have  the  legs  of  a  man 
in  place  of  the  forelegs  of  the  horse. 

Chiron  seems  to  have  had  nothing  in  common  with  them 
but  his  form;  for  he  was  wise  and  just,  well-meaning  and 
kindly,  a  friend  of  gods  and  heroes,  and  skilled  in  medicine, 
music,  and  various  arts.  The  young  Achilles  was  brought 
up  under  his  care  and  tuition,  in  the  cave  where  he  lived,  ; 
on  Mount  Pelion.  So  also  were  Jason  and  Aesculapius. 


I 


CHIRON, 


265 

He  was  the  friend  of  Pelens  and  of  Hercules,  and  his  death 
was  an  example  of  the  self-sacrifice  which  had  characterized 


his  life.  In  trying  to  make  peace  between  Hercules  and  the 
Centaurs  he  had  been  accidentally  hit  by  a  posioned  arrow 

Murray — 20 


266 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


i  :i 

«•’  ;,Si 

w  C 

tl'M 


ucac 


.t:rc: 


CTf* 

0:iZ 

Mtir,  Nte 


«! 


U/  P*"! 


»R 

«»  Htffc 


wlSIIIi 

vRvum 

ppiinrjH 


from  the  bow  of  Hercules.  The  wound  baffling  all  his  skill, 
and  causing  acute  pain,  he  offered  himself  to  die  in  the  room 
of  Prometheus,  and  was  accepted  by  the  gods. 


(e)  THKACE. 


The  burden  of  all  the  early  Thracian  legends  is  the  strange 
divine  influence  of  music  and  song.  Whether  the  passion  for 
music,  which  may  be  supposed  to  have  given  rise  to  the 
legends,  originated  among  the  ungenial  northern  hills  and 
the  valleys  of  Thrace,  or  whether,  as  is  supposed,  it  was 
transplanted  thither  by  immigrants  from  the  district  of 
Pieria,  with  its  ancient  fountain  of  the  Muses,  it  would  be 
hard  to  decide.  All  that  is  certain  is,  that  the  belief  con¬ 
cerning  Orpheus,  the  principal  flgure  in  these  legends,  was 
common  to  both  regions. 

Orpheus  was  regarded  as  a  son  of  the  muse  Calliope  and  r 
the  god  Apollo.  From  his  mother  he  inherited  the  fascinat¬ 
ing  power  with  which  he  played  the  lyre  and  sang,  so  that 
the  birds  of  the  air,  the  fish  in  the  streams,  wild  beasts,  even 
trees,  rocks,  and  hills,  gathered  round  him  to  listen.  The 
subject  of  his  song  was  always  the  beautiful  Eurydice,  whom 
he  had  loved  and  lost.  She  had  died  through  the  poisoned 
bite  of  a  snake  that  lurked  in  the  grass  over  which  she  had 
to  run  to  esacpe  from  Aristaeus,  who  also  loved  her.  Her 
sister  nymphs,  accompanied  by  Orpheus,  wandered  over  the 
hills  and  valleys,  filling  the  air  with  plaintive  strains  to  call 
her  back  again.  Orpheus  carried  his  search  for  her  even 
down  to  the  gloomy  shades  of  the  lower  world,  the  sweetness 
of  his  music  soothing  the  monsters  and  wicked  spirits  that 
dwell  there,  and  otherwise  would  have  resisted  his  progress. 
Even  the  hardened  hearts  of  Persephone  and  the  merciless 
Erinyes  were  touched  by  his  passionate  grief.  It  was  agreed 
that  Eurydice  should  be  permitted  to  return  with  him  to  the 
upper  world — the  only  condition  attached  to  the  agreement 


I 


ORPHEUS  AND  EURYDICE.  267 

being  that  he  should  not  turn  to  look  upon  her  face  all  the 
way  back.  His  patience,  however,  gave  way.  The  bar- 


Orpheus  and  Eurydice. 

gain  becanie  null,  and  Eurydice  must  instantly  retrace  her 


268 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


e » 

p' 

« t 
«cac 

•MtSpt 

a:: 

i*:|?Ci. 

Q:.SS 

Mi4r. 


■tNI 

* 


UiMKi 

c:3» 


'•  A 

iJDfiiui 

1.IK; 

fnf;“ 

vwini 

fpviri 


steps,  and  be  lost  to  him  forever.  For  seven  months  he  sat 
in  doleful  mood  by  the  banks  of  the  river  Strymon,  under 
the  open  sky,  refusing  food  or  drink.  Then  he  withdrew  to 
the  higher  wintry  regions  of  the  mountains  Rhodope  and 
Haemus,  to  nurse  his  sorrow  in  greater  solitude,  but  was 
discovered  by  a  band  of  Maenades,  out  upon  some  wild 
Bacchic  mission,  and  torn  by  them  limb  from  limb.  The 
Muses,  it  was  said,  gathering  the  limbs,  conveyed  them  to 
Pieria,  on  Mount  Olympus,  and  buried  them  there.*  His 
head  and  lyre  floated  down  the  Hebrus,  and  were  carried  by 
the  sea,  the  lyre  sounding  sweetly  with  the  swell  and  fall  of 
the  waves,  to  the  island  of  Lesbos,  celebrated  in  after  times 
for  its  poets  and  musicians.  There  the  head  was  buried,  and 
nightingales  sang  sweeter  beside  it  than  elsewhere  in  Greece. 
But  in  Thrace  also  a  tomb  was  pointed  out  as  being  that  of 
Orpheus,  while  a  sanctuary  was  established  in  his  honor. 

In  later  times  a  religious  system  with  mysterious  rites  and 
ceremonies,  said  to  have  been  instituted  by  Orpheus,  and 
bearing  his  name,  was  widely  propagated  in  Greece.  It  may 
be  that  his  connection  with  the  worship  of  Dionysus,  referred 
to  in  the  legends  both  of  Pieria  and  Thrace,  was  regarded 
as  sufficient  warrant  for  associating  with  his  name  religious 
institutions  having  much  in  common  with  the  Dionysiac 
mysteries. 

It  is  said  that  Orpheus  accompanied  the  expedition  of  the 
Argonauts,  but  at  what  period  of  his  life  we  do  not  know. 

To  the  same  region  of  Thrace  belongs  the  legend  of  Tha- 
myris,  a  son  of  the  king  Philammon  and  the  nymph  Argi- 
ope,  distinguished  for  his  personal  beauty  as  well  as  his 
minstrelsy.  He  was,  however,  inordinately  vain,  and  on  the 
occasion  of  a  visit  to  the  court  of  Burytus,  at  Oechalia, 
boasted  himself  not  inferior  to  the  Muses  themselves,  the 
daughters  of  Zeus.  But  on  his  way  homeward  he  was  met 
by  them ;  they  put  his  eyes  out,  and  took  away  his  power  of 
song  and  music. 


ATTICA 


269 


(/)  ATTICA. 

The  people  of  Attica,  generally  speaking,  believed  that 
their  first  ancestors  had  sprung  from  the  earth,  and  by  some 


Orpheus,  Eurydice,  and  Hermes. 


process  been  transformed  from  trees  or  rocks,  or  perhaps  from 
animals,  into  men  and  women.  The  change  was  not  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  been  direct  and  instantaneous,  as  we  may  infer 
from  the  form  ascribed  to  Cecrops,  the  first  of  the  race, 
which  was  that  of  a  man  with  extremities  in  the  shape  of 


2^0 


Tnp.  PaRLTEP  race  op  UER0E8. 


vz 

c » 

;£ 

riw 

«< 

itu:^ 

rtis 

ails 

c;r» 

r;:!: 


Ui/ 


■»»* 


tJtiSa 
1.ISIC 
fiiti.r.’- 

»P*  HruJll 


snakes  in  place  of  human  legs.  In  later  times  of  learned 
speculation  this  Cecrops  was  thought  to  have  been  an  immi¬ 
grant  from  Egypt.  Proofs  of  an  early  immigration  into 
Attica  are  certainly  not  wanting,  but  they  do  not  point  to 
Egypt  as  the  source  of  it.  They  point  to  Crete,  which  in 
the  time  of  Minos  held  Attica,  as  it  probably  held  other 
places,  as  a  dependency. 

Cecrops,  according  to  the  legend,  ruled  as  king  over  the 
primitive  race  of  Attica,  established  himself  on  the  Acrop¬ 
olis  of  Athens,  and  gathered  a  township  around  him,  which 
he  called  Cecropia.  He  gave  his  people  laws,  and  taught 
them  to  worship  Zeus  and  Athene-Polias.  It  was  during 
his  reign  that  the  celebrated  contest  took  place  between  Posei¬ 
don  and  Athene  for  the  control  of  Attica.  Cecrops  was  chosen 
to  decide,  and,  arguing  that  the  sea  was  common  to  all,  while 
the  olive  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  soil  of  his  country, 
gave  his  decision  in  favor  of  the  goddess.  He  had  three 
daughters — Herse,  Agraulos,  and  Pandrosos — all  three 
names  apparently  referring  to  the  fertilizing  fall  of  dew. 
The  last  mentioned  was  the  first  priestess  of  Athene.  Of 
the  other  two,  Herse  became  the  mother  of  Ceryx,  from 
whom  the  priestly  family  of  heralds  in  Attica  derived  their 
lineage.  His  father  was  Hermes,  the  divine  herald.  Ag¬ 
raulos  bore  a  daughter  to  the  god  Ares.  Her  name  was 
Alcippe,  and  her  story,  that  she  loved  Halirrhothius,  a  son 
of  Poseidon,  and  was  slain  by  Ares.  For  t^at  crime  a  court 
called  the  Areopagus  was  appointed  to  try  the  god,  and  con¬ 
tinued  thereafter  to  sit  on  cases  of  murder. 

The  successor  of  Cecrops  was  Erichthonius,  who  was  de¬ 
scribed  as  being  altogether  of  the  form  of  a  snake.  He  was 
the  offspring  of  Hephaestus  and  Gaea,  was  the  fondling  of 
Athene,  and  when  he  obtained  the  throne  of  Attica,  taught 
his  people  to  worship  the  ancient  wooden  image  of  the  god¬ 
dess,  and  instituted  in  her  honor  the  famous  Panathenaic 
games.  The  story  of  his  infancy  was  that  Athene  handed 
him  in  a  closed  box  to  the  three  daughters  of  Cecrops,  with 


ATTICA. 


271 


orders  not  to  open  it.  Two  of  the  sisters,  Herse  and  Agrau- 
los,  yielded  to  curiosity,  opened  the  box,  and,  on  seeing  a 
snake  within,  were  seized  with  frantic  terror  and  threw 
themselves  from  the  rocks  of  the  Acropolis.  Erichthonius 
was  brought  up  within  the  sanctuary  of  the  goddess. 

Erichthonius  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Pandion,  and  he 
again  by  his  son  Brechtheus,  with  whom  the  dynasty  of  the 
line  of  Cecrops  came  to  an  end,  passing  over  to  Ion,  a  reputed 
son  of  Apollo,  and  the  ancestor  of  the  Ionian  race.  Erech- 
theus  and  all  his  family  perished  in  a  battle  against  Bumol- 
pus,  the  prince  of  Eleusis.  The  result  of  their  death,  how¬ 
ever,  was  that  the  old  strife  between  Attica  and  Eleusis  was 
put  an  end  to,  and  the  two  kingdoms  united  in  one. 

Besides  his  son  Erechtheus,  Pandion  had  two  daughters, 
Procne  and  Philomela,  of  whom  a  touching  story  is  told. 
It  would  seem  that  in  the  course  of  a  war  with  Labdacus  of 
Thebes,  Pandion  had  obtained  important  assistance  from 
Tereus,  a  king  of  Thrace,  and  for  this  offered  him  the  hand 
of  his  daughter  Procne.  Afterward  the  Thracian  desired 
her  sister  also,  and,  pretending  that  Procne  was  dead, 
obtained  Philomela  as  his  wife.  To  prevent  the  former 
from  revealing  the  truth,  he  tore  out  her  tongue,  and  placed 
her  in  a  cage  in  a  wood.  But  his  end  was  not  thus  gained; 
for  Procne  contrived  to  send  her  sister  a  piece  of  drapery  on 
which  she  had  embroidered  a  representation  of  the  facts, 
which  her  sister  readily  understood.  The  two  sisters  then 
combined  to  execute  a  terrible  revenge  on  Tereus,  placing 
the  flesh  of  his  son  Itys,  whom  they  killed,  before  him  as  a 
dish.  Tereus  drew  his  sword,  and  pursued  the  sisters  till 
all  three  were  changed  into  birds— he  into  a  lapwing,  Procne 
into  a  swallow,  and  Philomela  into  a  nightingale.  The 
Latin  poets  reversed  the  story  of  the  two  sisters,  saying  that 
it  was  Philomela  whose  tongue  was  cut  out,  their  object 
being,  since  her  name  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  nightingale, 
to  account  for  the  silence  of  that  bird  except  in  the  spring¬ 
time. 


272 


THE  EARLIER  RAGE  OF  HEROES. 


S' 


The  Attic  legend  of  Boreas,  the  wind-god,  who  carried 
off  Orithyia,  has  already  been  given,  as  has  also  that  of 
Cephalus  and  Procris.  We  shall,  therefore,  pass  on  to  Ion, 
who,  when  the  male  line  of  Cecrops  had  become  extinct, 
succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Attica. 

Ion  was  a  son  of  Apollo  and  Creusa,  a  daughter  of 
Erechtheus,  and  at  his  birth  was  taken  away  from  his 
mother,  who  afterward  married  Xuthus,  and  remained  child¬ 
less.  Going  to  Delphi  to  consult  the  oracle  about  their  pros¬ 
pects  of  posterity,  Xuthus  and  Creusa  were  told  by  the  god 
to  adopt  as  their  son  the  first  youth  they  should  meet.  This 
happened  to  be  Ion,  who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  temple 
of  Delphi,  and  who,  agreeably  to  the  command  of  the  god, 
was  adopted  by  the  childless  pair. 

According  to  another  legend,  Pandion  was  driven  from 
Attica  by  the  sons  of  Metion,  and  took  refuge  with  Pylus, 
the  king  of  Megara,  where  he  found  and  adopted  Aegeus, 
who,  after  PandioAs  death,  advanced  upon  Attica,  and,  with 
the  assistance  of  his  brothers,  Pallas,  Xisos,  and  Lycus, 
recovered  the  kingdom  of  his  adopted  father,  reigned  in 
Athens,  and  became  the  father  of  the  renowned  hero  Theseus, 
whose  exploits  we  shall  relate  hereafter. 

{g)  CRETE. 

The  position  of  the  island  of  Crete,  its  extent  and  fer¬ 
tility,  appear  to  have  attracted  the  early  Phoenician  traders 
to  its  shores.  They  founded  the  towns  of  Gnossus  and  Gor- 
tyn,  and  so  developed  the  resources  of  the  island  as  to  give 
it  a  powerful  ascendency  over  the  other  islands  of  the  Archi¬ 
pelago,  and  extending  to  various  districts  of  the  mainland  of 
Greece,  including  Attica,  as  has  just  been  said.  They  intro¬ 
duced  the  worship  of  Astarte  and  Moloch;  and  when,  gen¬ 
erations  afterward,  the  island  had  become  completely  Hel- 
ienized,  through  the  successive  immigrations  of  Achaeans 


CRETE. 


273 


and  Dorians,  there  were  still  found  current  among  the  people 
legends  that  could  only  be  explained  in  connection  with  the 
religion  of  the  Phoenicians.  Of  this  kind  were  the  legends 


of  Tales,  Itanus,  and  the  river  Jardanus.  The  Greek 
immigrants  settled  in  the  towns  that  had  been  planted  by 
the  Phoenicians,  adapting  themselves  to  existing  arrange- 


274 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


ments,  it  appears,  and  accepting  the  ancient  traditions  of  the  j 
island  as  a  basis  for  legends  of  a  purely  Greek  construe-  : 
tion. 

These  legends  commence  with  Europa,  whom  Zeus  saw 
and  loved  while  she  was  gathering  spring  buds  near  Sidon, 
where  her  father,  Agenor  (or  Phoenix,  as  some  said),  was 
king.  The  god,  transforming  himself  into  a  white  bull, 
carried  her  oft  on  his  back  over  the  sea  toward  the  south 
coast  of  Crete,  and  landed  with  her  in  the  district  of  Gortyn 
and  Phaestus,  where  Asterion  was  then  the  reigning  king.  ^ 
Europa  gave  birth  there  to  three  sons — Minos,  Rhadaman-  j 
thus,  and  Sarpedon — who  grew  up  under  the  care  of  Aste¬ 
rion,  to  whom  Zeus  had  commended  their  mother.  How 
familiar  the  people  of  the  island  must  have  been  with  the 
various  phases  of  this  legend  may  be  seen  from  the  ancient  ; 
coins  of  Gortyn  and  Phaestus,  with  their  representations, 
now  of  a  bull  alone,  now  of  Europa  riding  on  him,  and  at  : 
other  times  of  Europa  seated  among  the  branches  of  a  plane-  . 
tree. 

The  oldest  traditions  describe  Minos  as  ruling  the  island 
with  exemplary  justice,  extending  its  maritime  power  and 
its  supremacy  over  the  neighboring  islands  and  countries. 
He  established  among  his  people  a  wise  system  of  laws, 
which  formed,  it  was  believed,  in  after  times,  the  basis  of  the 
legislation  of  Lycurgus.  These  laws,  he  said,  were  commu¬ 
nicated  to  him  by  his  father,  Zeus,  with  whom  he  went  every 
ninth  year  to  hold  communion  in  a  sacred  cave  in  the  island. 

So  high  was  his  reputation  for  justice  that  when  he  died,  so 
people  thought,  he  was  appointed  a  judge  in  the  lower  world. 

The  wife  of  Minos  was  Pasiphae,  a  daughter  of  the  sun- 
god  Helios  and  Perseis.  It  is  necessary  to  bear  her  parent¬ 
age  in  mind  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  a  right  clue  to  the 
explanation  of  the  legend  concerning  her.  For,  as  a  daughter 
of  Helios  and  Perseis,  she  may  well  have  been  originally  a 
goddess  of  the  moon,  and  as  such  represented  under  the  form  ; 
of  a  white  cow.  Her  name,  Pasiphae,  would  be  appropriate  i 


DAEDAL  US  AND  ICAR  US.  275 

for  such  an  office.  She  bore  to  Minos  two  daughters — 


Daedalus  and  Icarus. 


Ariadne  and  Phaedra — of  whom  more  will  be  told  here¬ 
after. 


276 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


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Minos,  it  was  said,  on  being  chosen  king  of  the  island, 
proceeded  to  the  sea-shore  to  offer,  in  presence  of  his  people, 
a  sacrifice  to  his  father,  Zeus,  calling  on  the  sea-god  Poseidon 
to  send  up  a  victim  for  that  purpose  from  the  sea.  Poseidon 
heard,  and  sent  a  shimmering  white  bull.  In  this  act  of 
compliance  on  the  part  of  the  sea- god,  Minos  perceived  that  H 
his  supremacy  at  sea  was  secured.  Instead,  however,  of  j 
sacrificing  the  white  bull,  he  placed  it  among  his  own  herd  | 
which  browsed  near  Gortyn — a  herd  which  is  elsewhere  said  j 
to  have  belonged  to  the  sun-god.  Poseidon,  taking  offence 
at  the  deceit,  caused  the  bull  to  become  wild,  and  at  the  same 
time  inflamed  the  queen,  Pasiphae,  with  an  unnatural  desire 
toward  it.  The  bull  broke  from  his  stall,  and  was  pursued  ! 
by  Pasiphae  ov’^er  hills  and  through  woods,  till  finally  the 
great  artist  Daedalus  succeeded  in  holding  him  to  the 
meadow  and  in  satisfying  the  desires  of  the  queen,  who 
afterward  gave  birth  to  Minotaurus,  a  creature  with  the 
body  and  limbs  of  a  man  and  the  head  of  a  bull.  Daedalus  - 
had  now  to  employ  his  skill  in  making  a  vast  labyrinth,  ! 
with  intricate  winding  passages,  from  which  no  one  who 
entered  could  find  his  way  out.  Within  it  Minotaurus  was  ; 
placed,  and  received  as  victims  the  persons  sent  to  Minos  ; 
periodically  by  tributary  states.  Such  tribute,  consisting  of  ; 
seven  boys  and  seven  girls  of  noble  families,  Minos  had 
levied  on  Athens  as  a  satisfaction  for  the  murder  of  his  son 
Androgeos  by  Aegeus,  the  king  of  Attica.  Every  eight 
years  the  grievous  levy  was  despatched  to  Crete,  till  The¬ 
seus,  the  son  of  Aegeus,  put  an  end  to  it  in  a  manner  which 
we  shall  afterward  have  occasion  to  relate. 

Minos  met  his  death  at  Agrigentum,  in  Sicily,  whither  he 
had  pursued  Daedalus,  who  had  escaped  from  the  labyrinth, 
into  which  he  and  his  son  Icarus  had  been  thrown  for  making 
a  figure  of  a  cow  for  Pasiphae  so  lifelike  as  to  be  mistaken 
by  the  herd.  He  had  escaped  by  means  of  wings  which  he  ' 
had  made  for  himself  and  his  son.  The  latter  fell  into  the 
sea,  and  was  drowned,  while  his  father,  reaching  Sicily  in 


i 


Daedalus  and  icarus. 


^77 

Sctfety,  was  received  under  the  protection  of  King  Cocalus, 
whose  daughter  killed  Minos  by  pouring  boiling  water  on  his 
head  while  he  was  in  a  bath.  Minos  was  buried  there,  and 
had  a  tomb  erected  in  his  memory. 

On  the  coins  of  the  town  of  Phaestus  is  the  figure  of  a 
youth,  winged  and  nude,  rushing  with  great  strides,  and 
holding  what  appears  to  be  a  stone  in  each  hand.  This  figure 
has  been  identified  with  the  legends  of  Talos,  who  is  de¬ 
scribed  as  having  been  made  of  bronze,  a  remnant  of  the 


Daedalus  and  Icarus. 


bronze  age,  or,  as  others  said,  a  living  work  of  art  produced 
by  Hephaestus.  He  had  been  placed  in  Crete  by  Zeus,  to 
watch  over  Europa,  his  duty  being  to  run  round  the  island 
three  times  a  day,  and  see  who  landed  on  the  coast.  When 


278 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


the  Argonauts  arrived,  he  opposed  their  landing,  but  unsuc- 
cessfally;  for  it  happened  that  they  were  aware  of  the  fact 
that,  though  apparently  altogether  made  of  bronze,  he  still  ^ 
had  a  vein  reaching  from  neck  to  heel,  and  containing  his  ^ 
life-blood.  This  vein  Poeas,  the  father  of  Philoctetes,  man- 1: 
aged  to  hit  with  an  arrow  from  the  famous  bow  of  Hercules.  | 
Talos  fell  and  died.  Others  said  that  Medea,  who  accom-!i 
panied  the  Argonauts,  overcame  him  by  witchcraft.  It  had  i 
been  the  practice  of  Talos,  when  he  caught  any  one  landing- 
on  the  coast,  to  seize  his  victim  in  his  arms,  to  leap  with  him ; 
into  a  fire,  and  press  him  to  his  burning  bosom,  the  while ' 
laughing  at  the  pain.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  phrase. 

Sardonic  laughter.’’  ^  ^ 

Though  the  appointment  of  Rhadainanthus  as  a  judge  in 
the  lower  world  was  said  to  have  been  due  to  the  sense  of 
justice  which  he  had  displayed  on  earth,  the  region  or  country 
that  benefited  by  his  decisions  is  not  given.  It  may  be  right^ 
to  assume  that  he  acted  with  his  brother  Minos  in  Crete. ^ 
Sarpedon,  the  third  of  the  brothers,  passed  over  to  Lycia,^ 
and  there  became  the  founder  of  an  illustrious  line  of  heroes. 


(h)  ELIS  AND  ARGOS.  ! 

•  ii 

With  Pelops  commences  a  lineage  of  heroes  famous  in 
Elis  and  Argos  for  their  deeds  of  violence  and  for  the  retri¬ 
bution  that  awaited  them.  How  Niobe,  the  sister  of  Pelops, 
was  punished  for  her  pride,  we  have  already  seen.  What 
his  father,  Tantalus,  had  to  endure  in  Tartarus  has  also  been 
described.  Tantalus  had  ruled  his  kingdom  of  Phrygia,  in 
Asia  Minor,  well,  and  on  that  account  gained  the  esteem  oi 
the  gods,  who  invited  him  to  a  banquet.  But  he  betrayed 
their  secrets,  and,  to  crown  all,  invited  them  to  a  feast,  a1 
which,  to  test  their  power  of  knowing  all  things  that  hap¬ 
pened,  he  set  before  them  the  flesh  of  his  own  son  Pelops, 
The  gods,  perceiving  the  outrageous  attempt,  restored  tin 
•  child  to  life,  giving  him  in  place  of  the  shoulder  that  hat 


PEL  OPS. 


279 

been  eaten,  whether  by  Demeter  or  Thetis,  a  shoulder  of 
ivory.  His  father  was  despatched  to  Tartarus. 

When  Pelops  had  grown  to  manhood  under  the  care  of 
the  gods  especially  of  Poseidon,  from  whom  he  learned  his 
skill  in  managing  horses— he  resolved  to  win  Hippodameia, 
the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Elis,  Oenomaus,  a  son  of  Ares, 
and  the  owner  of  horses  swift  as  the  wind.  The  story  was 
That  Oenomaus  had  been  informed  by  an  oracle  that  his  death 
would  be  caused  by  the  husband  of  his  daughter.  Trusting 
to  the  extraordinary  speed  of  his  horses,  he  freely  offered  his 
daughter  s  hand  to  any  suitor  who  should  outstrip  him  in  a 
chariot  race.  Those  who  failed,  it  was  stipulated  in  the  chal¬ 
lenge,  should  perish  at  his  hands.  This  fate  had  befallen 
many  an  ardent  suitor  previous  to  the  arrival  of  Pelops,  wlio, 
with  a  golden  chariot  and  winged  horses,  given  him  by  Posei¬ 
don,  won  the  race.  It  is  said,  however,  that  his  success  was 
rather  due  to  Hippodamia,  who  had  conceived  a  great  love 
for  the  youth,  and  gave  practical  effect  to  her  passion  by 
bribing  her  father’s  charioteer,  Myrtilus,  to  take  a  spoke  out 
of  his  master’s  wheel. 

With  the  hand  of  Hippodamia,  Pelops  obtained  the  throne 
of  Elis,  and  had,  among  other  children,  two  sons,  named 
Atreus  and  Thyestes.  He  established,  or  at  least  greatly 
promoted,  the  Olympian  games.  His  grave,  the  house  of 
Oenomaus,  and  other  monuments  of  his  excellent  rule,  were 
afterward  gratefully  pointed  to  at  Olympia. 

Atreus  and  Thyestes,  having  slain  the  beautiful  young 
Chrysippus,  a  son  of  Pelops  and  a  nymph,  were  compelled 
to  leave  Elis.  They  found  refuge  in  Mycenae,  establishing 
themselves  in  the  old  fort  of  Midea,  until  the  death  of 
Eurystheus,  when  Atreus  obtained  the  government  of  Myce¬ 
nae,  the  ruins  of  which  still  attest  the  power  of  its  ancient 
kings.  Atreus  married  a  daughter  of  Minos — Aerope — who 
allowed  herself  to  listen  to  proposals  from  Thyestes,  and 
assisted  him  to  carry  off  the  ram  with  the  golden  fleece,  the 
possession  of  which  was  supposed  to  secure  the  government 

Murray — 21 


280 


THE  EARLIER  RAGE  OF  HEROES. 


of  the  country.  But  Zeus  interfered  in  the  cause  of  Atreus, 
the  elder  of  the  brothers,  and,  as  a  sign  of  his  will,  caused 
the  sun  to  rise  in  the  west.  Thyestes  returned  to  his  brother’s 
house,  asking  to  be  forgiven,  and  was  received  with  an  ap¬ 
pearance  of  good-will.  Instead  of  b^ing  forgiven,  however, 
he  was  presented,  on  sitting  down  to  eat,  with  the  flesh  of 
liis  own  son.  Thyestes  fled  in  horror,  and  thereupon  famine 
stalked  over  the  land.  On  consulting  an  oracle  with  regard 
to  the  famine,  Atreus  was  told  to  find  Thyestes,  and  take 
liim  back.  He  did  so,  and  moreover  placed  him  in  confine¬ 
ment  in  Argos,  at  the  same  time  trying  to  persuade  Aegisthus, 
the  son  of  Thyestes,  to  kill  his  father.  But  events  took  a 
different  course,  Thyestes  preferring  to  make  a  victim  of 
Atreus.  On  the  death  of  Atreus,  Agamemnon  succeeded  to 
the  throne  of  Argos,  and  his  brother  Menelaus  to  that  of 
Sparta.  Of  these  two  brothers  more  shall  be  said  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  war  against  Troy. 

HERCULES. 

Though  regarded  sometimes  as  a  god,  and  honored  in  the 
way  appointed  for  immortals,  it  was  chiefly  as  the  hero  of  a 
long  series  of  arduous  labors,  difficulties  apparently  insur¬ 
mountable,  and  sufferings,  that  Hercules  obtained  the  numer¬ 
ous  honors  paid  to  his  memory  throughout  Greece.  In  the 
gymnasia,  where  the  youth  of  every  town  were  instructed  in 
athletic  exercises,  the  statue  of  Hercules  was  pointed  to  as  a 
model  of  what  a  perfect  athlete  should  be  ;  while  the  tales  of 
his  wrestling  with  this  or  that  giant  were  repeated  as  exam¬ 
ples  of  fearlessness  and  extraordinary  strength.  Soldiers 
going  to  battle  thought  of  his  fatigues  and  ultimate  triumphs. 
Laborers  oppressed  by  toil  relieved  their  sorrows  by  recalling 
the  laborious  incidents  of  his  life.  Even  the  Athenians  valued 
the  rugged,  stubborn  endurance  of  Hercules  higher  than  the 
litheness  and  more  perfect  form  of  their  own  Theseus.  So  far, 


HERCULES. 


281 


Hercules  was  looked  upon  merely  as  an  example  of  extraor¬ 
dinary  physical  strength  and  patient  toiling  to  the  end;  but  in 
later  times  he  came  also  to  be  held  up  as  an  ideal  of  virtue 


Hercules- 


and  duty,  in  which  capacity  a  story  invented  by  the  sophist 
Prodicus  concerning  him,  found  great  applause.  That  story 
was  entitled  The  Choice  of  Hercules,  and  represented  him 


282 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


as  being  met  at  a  crossway,  while  yet  a  youth,  by  two  figures 
— Pleasure  and  Duty — the  one  promising  him  all  possible 
enjoyments,  the  other  a  life  of  labor  and  trouble,  if  he 
would  follow  her.  He  chose  to  follow  Duty. 

According  to  the  genealogy,  Hercules  was  a  son  of  Zeus 
and  Alcmene,  the  wife  of  Amphitryon,  a  descendant  of 
Perseus,  and  resident  in  Thebes.  On  the  day  on  which  he 
was  to  have  been  born,  Hera,  to  whose  persecution  all  the 
labors  and  sufferings  of  Hercules  in  after  life  were  due, 
obtained  from  Zeus,  in  presence  of  the  assembled  gods,  a  vow 
that  the  boy  to  be  born  on  that  day  should  have  power  and 
dominion  over  all  that  dwelt  about  him.  Hastening  to 
Argos,  she  lent  a  helping  hand  to  the  wife  of  Sthenelus,  and 
enabled  her  to  give  birth  to  Eurystheus,  a  weakly  seven- 
months’  child.  Meantime  she  had  delayed  the  birth  of  Her¬ 
cules,  who,  in  consequence,  became  the  subject  of  Eurystheus. 
With  all  this  hostility  on  the  part  of  Hera,  it  is  curious  to 
compare  a  scene  which  not  unfrequently  occurs  on  ancient 
painted  vases,  representing  Hera  suckling  the  infant  Hercules. 
The  story  was  that  Hermes  (Mercury),  at  the  command  of 
Zeus,  had  carried  the  newly  born  child  to  Olympus,  and  put 
it  to  Hera’s  breast,  without  her  knowing  whose  child  it  was. 
From  this  divine  milk  Hercules  drew  his  godlike  strength, 
the  first  promise  of  which  was  given  soon  after  his  birth,  by 
his  strangling  the  serpent  sent  by  Hera  to  kill  him. 

His  youth  was  spent  under  the  instruction  of  the  most 
celebrated  heroes  of  the  day,  the  wise  Rhadamanthus  teach¬ 
ing  him  to  be  wise  and  virtuous,  and  Linus  the  practice  of 
music.  Unluckily,  Linus  had  to  punish  him  for  some  neglect, 
and  in  doing  so  enraged  the  boy  so  much  that  he  turned  and 
slew  his  master.  For  this  Amphitryon  carried  his  son  away 
to  the  hills,  and  left  him  under  the  care  of  herdsmen,  with 
whom,  like  Romulus,  or  Amphion  and  Zethus,  he  enjoyed  a 
wild  life  of  hunting  and  exposure  to  climate,  his  limbs  grow¬ 
ing  to  enormous  size,  and  his  eyes  sparkling  with  unusual 
fire.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  slew  an  enormous  lion  that 


j 


1 


.t 


n 


:  J 
lit 

il 

1. 

5 


! 

i 


THE  TWELVE  LABORS  OF  HERCULES. 


283 


infested  Mount  Cithaeron,  destroying  the  flocks  of  his  father, 
Amphitryon,  and  of  Thespius,  the  king  of  Thespiae.  Ke- 
turning  to  Thebes  from  the  lion-hunt,  and  wearing  its  skin 
hanging  from  his  shoulders  as  a  sign  of  his  success,  he  met 
the  heralds  of  the  king  of  the  Minyae,  coming  from  Orcho- 
menos  to  claim  the  annual  tribute  of  a  hundred  cattle  levied 
on  Thebes.  Hercules  cut  off  the  ears  and  noses  of  the  her- 
^alds,  bound  their  hands,  and  sent  them  home.  A  war  fol¬ 
lowed,  in  which  Amphitryon  and  his  two  sons,  Hercules  and 
Iphicles,  did  wonders  on  the  part  of  Thebes,  and  were  duly 
honored  for  the  same. 

But  the  part  taken  by  Hercules  in  that  war  was  the  last 
act  of  his  own  free  will;  for  Hera,  annoyed  at  the  fast-rising 
fame  of  the  young  hero,  persuaded  Eurystheus  to  exercise 
the  authority  given  him  at  his  birth  by  Zeus,  and  to  call 
on  Hercules  to  enter  his  service.  Hercules  inquired  at  the 
Delphic  oracle  whether  it  was  possible  to  escape  the  sum¬ 
mons,  but  was  told  in  reply  that  he  must  carry  out  success¬ 
fully  twelve  tasks  to  be  imposed  on  him  by  Eurystheus,  and 
that,  having  done  so,  he  would  be  reckoned  among  the  num¬ 
ber  of  immortals.  With  this  answer  in  his  mind,  he  presented 
himself  to  Eurystheus  at  Mycenae,  and  commenced  the  seri¬ 
ous  labor  of  life. 

The  Twelve  Labors  of  Hercules. 

It  may  be,  as  has  been  often  suggested,  that  the  legend  of 
the  labors  of  Hercules,  like  those  of  Perseus  in  the  service 
of  Polydectes,  or  of  Bellerophon  in  that  of  the  Lycian  king, 
or  of  Siegfried  in  that  of  the  king  of  Burgundy,  was  intended 
to  convey  an  illustration  of  the  course  and  operations  of  the 
sun.  His  first  labors  are  performed  near  home,  the  distance 
from  which  increases  with  each  new  labor  that  is  imposed,  till 
at  last,  after  carrying  off  the  golden  apples  of  the  Hesperides 
in  the  remote  west,  he  descends  to  the  lower  world,  and  brings 
back  with  him  the  hated  dog  Cerberus.  In  later  times  the 


284 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OE  HEROES. 


t  » 

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U/»»i 


tar.' 

ra^l 

vitmiw 


twelve  labors  were  openly  brought  into  connection  with  the 
twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac.  It  is,  however,  more  likely  that, 
originally,  this  number  had  no  more  signification  than  in  the 
case  of  the  twelve  higher  deities  of  Olympus,  that  it  was 
adopted  by  the  poets,  such  as  Pisander  and  Stesichorus,  who 
first  made  these  labors  their  theme,  and  that  through  their 
influence  it  became  stereotyped  both  in  poetry  and  art.  In 
Homer,  though  the  labors  are  known,  there  is  no  mention  of 
their  number.  In  the  Iliad  (v.  395)  Hercules  is  the  hero 
whose  unerring  arrows  wounded  Hera  and  Hades.  In  the 
Odyssey  (viii.  224)  Hercules  and  Eurytus  are  described  as 
the  most  celebrated  marksmen  of  bygone  times,  and  in  early 
works  of  art  it  is  his  character  as  a  bowman  that  is  prin¬ 
cipally  represented.  But  after  the  time  of  Pisander  and 
Stesichorus,  a  change  is  introduced.  The  club  becomes  his 
favorite  weapon;  and  instead  of  a  linen  garment  wrapped 
round  his  loins,  he  now  appears  either  carrying  the  skin  of 
the  Nemean  lion  over  his  arm,  or  wearing  it  hanging  down 
his  back — the  skin  of  its  head  fitting  to  his  crown  like  a 
rap,  and  the  forelegs  knotted  under  his  chin. 

1.  The  Nemean  lion,  the  offspring  of  Typhon  and  Echidna, 
liad  been  sent  by  Hera  to  devastate  the  neighborhood  of 
Nemea,  and  had  succeeded,  to  the  horror  of  the  natives. 
What  made  the  matter  worse  was  that  the  plain  of  Nemea 
was  sacred  to  Zeus.  The  lion  was  known  to  be  invulnerable 
— proof  even  against  the  arrows  of  Hercules.  It  was,  there¬ 
fore,  necessary  to  adopt  novel  means  for  its  destruction. 
Hercules  entered  the  cave  where  its  lair  was,  closed  the 
entrance  behind  him,  and  at  once  grappling  the  monster  in 
his  arms  strangled  it.  The  skin  he  tore  off  with  his  fingers, 
and,  knowing  it  to  be  impenetrable,  resolved  to  wear  it 
henceforth  in  his  own  defence.  To  the  legend  as  it  thus 
stands  was  added,  by  the  Alexandrian  and  Roman  poets,  the 
story  of  Molorchus,  a  native  of  the  district,  on  whom  Her¬ 
cules  called  on  his  way  to  the  cave,  and  who,  when  about  to 
kill  his  only  goat  to  make  a  feast  for  his  guest,  was  told  by 

t 


2.  The  Lernean  hydra,  also  the  offspring  of  Typhon  and 
Echidna,  and  sent  by  Hera.  Hercules  killed  it  with  his 
sword,  being  assisted  in  the  enterprise  by  lolaus  and  Athene. 
The  legend  is  given  more  fully  by  Apollodorus,  whose  ver- 


THE  TWELVE  LABORS  OF  HERCULES.  285 

the  hero  to  desist  and  to  wait  his  return.  It  was  arranged 
that  should  he  not  return  within  thirty  days  Molorchus  was 
to  sacrifice  to  him  as  to  a  dead  person.  The  thirty  days  had 
just  elapsed  when  Hercules  returned  and  found  his  friend  in 
the  act  of  preparing  the  sacrifice.  It  is  possible  that  the 
thirty  days  may  refer  to  the  period  of  greatest  heat  in  sum¬ 
mer,  when  the  lion  and  the  dog  are  ascendant. 


Hercules  and  the  Nemean  Lion. 


286 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


sion,  though  late,  is  proved  to  have  been  founded  on  an 
earlier  form  of  it  by  the  remains  of  poetry  and  art  of  high 
antiquity.  The  hydra  was  a  monster  with  nine  heads,  of 
which  eight  were  mortal  and  the  ninth  invulnerable.  It 
lived  in  the  marshy  ground  beside  the  fountain  of  Amymone, 
and  even  the  smell  which  spread  from  its  poison  was  fatal 
to  any  one  who  passed  near  it.  Hercules  arrived  at  the 
spot  in  a  chariot,  attended  by  lolaus,  and  succeeded  in 
driving  the  hydra  from  its  hole  by  firing  his  arrows  in  upon 
it.  The  fight  began,  and  Hercules  found  that  for  every 
head  of  it  which  he  cut  two  fresh  heads  started  up,  and  to 
increase  the  difficulty  a  huge  crab  came  and  seized  him  by  the 
heel.  It  was  necessary  to  try  another  form  of  attack.  Her¬ 
cules  ordered  lolaus  to  set  the  neighboring  wood  on  fire  and 
to  fetch  him  a  brand  from  it;  with  the  brand  so  obtained  he 
proceeded,  the  moment  he  had  cut  off  a  head,  to  burn  it  up, 
and  in  this  way  destroying  them  one  by  one,  he  at  last  came 
to  the  invulnerable  head,  cut  it  off  also,  and  buried  it  under 
a  huge  rock.  He  dipped  his  arrows  in  the  poison  of  the 
hydra.  When  his  success  was  reported  to  Eurystheus,  the 
latter  refused  to  reckon  it  as  one  of  the  labors,  on  the  ground 
that  lolaus  had  rendered  assistance.  The  interpretation  of 
the  legend  is  that  the  hydra  or  water-snake  is  a  symbol  of 
the  horrors  of  a  marshy  district,  and  that  its  poison,  witli  its 
fatal  smell,  represents  the  miasma  which  arises  from  such 
districts. 

3.  The  Erymanthian  hoar,  like  the  Ceryneian  stag  and  the 
Stymphalian  birds,  carries  us  to  a  mountainous  and  wild  rustic 
scene.  Its  haunt  was  on  Mount  Erymanthus,  in  the  north 
of  Arcadia.  But  the  name  of  Eryma.r„ius  was  also  applied 
to  a  stream  which  flowed  down  the  mountain  side;  and  it  is 
not  improbable  that  the  wild  boar  was  only  a  legendary  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  ravages  produced  in  winter  and  early  spring  by 
the  descent  of  this  river  with  swollen  torrents.  The  orders 
of  Eurystheus  were  that  the  boar  should  be  brought  back 
alive  to  Mycenae;  but  at  the  sight  of  Hercules  returning 


THE  TWELVE  LABORS  OF  HERCULES. 


287 


with  it  alive  on  his  shoulders,  fear  took  possession  of  the 
king,  and  he  hid  himself  in  a  large  bronze  vessel,  into  which 
Hercides,  as  frequently  represented  on  ancient  vases,  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  put  the  boar,  as  the  safest  possible  place.  The 
consternation  of  Eurystheus  may  be  imagined.  In  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  capture  of  the  boar  is  told  the  story  of  a  visit 
which  Hercules  paid  on  his  way  to  the  Centaur,  Pholus,  who 
lived  in  a  cave  on  Mount  Pholoe.  The  hero  was  hungry, 
and  Pholus  gave  him  to  eat.  He  was  also  thirsty,  and 


Hercules  and  the  Lemean  Hydra. 


required  some  wine.  N'ow  Pholus  had  at  hand  a  large  vase 
full  of  choice  wine,  but  it  was  the  common  property  of  the 
Centaurs  who  lived  in  other  parts  of  the  mountain.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  wine  had  been  a  present  from  Dionysus,  and 
had  been  accompanied  with  the  command  that  it  should  no" 
be  opened  till  his  good  friend  Hercules  arrived.  Pholus 
accordingly  had  no  hesitation  in  tapping  the  vase,  and  both 
drank  freely  from  it.  The  strong  aroma  of  the  wine,  how¬ 
ever,  reached  the  nostrils  of  the  other  Centaurs,  who  now 
flocked  toward  the  cave  of  Pholus  in  wild  confusion,  armed 
with  pine  branches,  rocks,  axes,  and  torches,  and  fell  upon 
Hercules.  A  violent  flght  ensued,  in  which  Hercules,  besides 
with  superior  numbers,  had  also  to  contend  with  the  disad¬ 
vantages  of  a  flood  of  water  sent  by  the  clouds,  who  were 


288 


THE  EARLIER  RAGE  OF  HEROES. 


the  mothers  of  the  Centaurs.  Ultimately  he  succeeded  in 
wounding  many  and  dispersing  the  others  into  the  woods — 
the  only  melancholy  part  of  the  issue  being  that  his  friend 
Pholus  lost  his  life  under  circumstances  which  remind  us  of 
the  death  of  that  other  kindly  Centaur,  Chiron,  who  lived 
on  Mount  Pelion,  and  brought  up  Achilles.  Pholus  was 
stooping  over  a  Centaur  who  had  fallen  by  an  arrow  from 
Hercules,  and  after  drawing  out  the  arrow,  was  wondering 
how  so  small  a  thing  could  produce  such  an  effect,  when  it 
fell  from  his  hands,  and  striking  severely  on  his  foot,  its 
poison  entered  his  body,  and  he  died.  The  legend  appears 
to  have  been  popular  both  with  poets  and  vase  painters. 

4.  The  Ceryneian  stag,  an  animal  of  wonderful  fleetness, 
with  antlers  of  gold  and  hoofs  of  brass,  was  sacred  to  Arte¬ 
mis,  to  whom  it  had  been  dedicated  by  Taygete,  one  of  the 
Pleiades.  It  took  its  name  from  the  hill  and  hunting  district 
of  Ceryneia,  on  the  borders  of  Arcadia  and  Achaia;  at  other 
times  it  was  called  the  Maenalian  stag.  The  task  imposed 
on  Hercules  was  to  capture  and  bring  it  back  alive.  The 
chase  lasted  for  a  whole  year,  Hercules  pursuing  it  over  hills 
and  plains,  ravines  and  meadows,  on  to  the  Hyperborean 
region,  and  thence  back  to  where  it  had  started  among  the 
Arcadian  hills.  It  sought  shelter  in  the  sanctuary  of  Artemis, 
but  being  dislodged  was  overtaken  by  Hercules  at  the  banks 
of  the  river  Ladon.  He  would  have  slain  it  had  not  Apollo 
and  Artemis  appeared  on  the  scene.  The  stag  running  a 
whole  year  on  to  the  regions  of  the  Hyperboreans,  and  thence 
returning  to  where  it  had  set  out,  appears  to  be  a  mythical 
illustration  of  the  course  of  the  moon,  and  may  be  compared 
with  the  much  simpler  story  of  the  huntress  Arge — the 

shimmering  being  who  pursued  a  stag,  crying  out,  I 
will  catch  you  should  ybur  speed  equal  that  of  Helios;”  for 
which  boast  the  angry  god  transformed  her  into  a  deer. 

5.  The  Stymphalian  birds.  The  vale  of  Stymphalus,  lying 
among  the  mountains  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  constantly 
exposed  to  the  floods  and  storms  of  winter,  was  described  in 


TKE  TWELVE  LABORS  OF  HERCULES. 


289 


a  mythical  form  as  being  subject  to  the  ravages  of  a  number¬ 
less  flock  of  birds,  which,  with  their  iron  talons  and  feathers 
sharp  as  arrows,  delighted  in  human  flesh.  From  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  flgures  of  some  of  them,  which  were  preserved  in 
the  sanctuary  of  Artemis,  it  appears  that  they  resembled  in 
form  the  Harpies,  and  like  them,  too,  they  were,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe,  symbols  of  the  cold,  destructive  storms  of 
winter.  To  get  rid  of  them  Hercules  first  raised  an  alarm 
by  ringing  a  large  bell ;  and  when  the  birds  came  out  from 
the  thick  wood  where  their  nests  were,  many  were  shot  down 
by  his  arrows,  and  the  rest  flew  away  in  fright.  They  flew, 
as  it  appears  from  the  story  of  the  Argonauts,  to  an  island, 
sacred  to  Ares,  in  the  inhospitable  Black  Sea,  where  the 
Argonauts  suffered  severely  from  the  heavy  falls  of  their 
sharp  biting  feathers,  and  only  obtained  relief  by  again 
frightening  them  by  raising  a  great  din.  As  the  birds  flew 
over  the  sea  their  feathers  fell  like  a  thick  snow-storm,  the 
flakes  of  which,  it  should  be  remembered,  are  frequently  in 
the  legends  of  other  peoples  compared  with  feathers.  Her¬ 
cules,  as  a  hero  representing  the  influence  of  the  sun,  was 
very  properly  called  in  by  the  myth-makers  to  destroy  beings 
of  this  kind,  more  especially  as  in  the  neighboring  district  of 
Pheneus  he  had  long  been  regarded  as  a  beneficent  hero. 
The  statement  of  his  having  alarmed  the  birds  by  ringing  a 
bell  may  have  been  suggested  by  a  common  practice  of  rais¬ 
ing  birds  from  their  nests.  At  the  same  time  it  may  also 
refer  to  a  custom  which  is  known  at  any  rate  in  more  recent 
times — that  of  ringing  bells  during  severe  storms,  from  a 
belief  that  such  a  proceeding  availed  against  all  evil  spirits 
of  the  air. 

6.  The  Augean  stables.  Augeas,  the  rich  prince  of  Elis, 
and  his  daughter  Agamede,  the  sorceress  who  knew  the 
potency  of  all  the  herbs  in  the  world,  were  known  to  the 
author  of  the  Iliad  (xi.  701,  739).  His  seat  was  at  Ephyra, 
a  name  which  occurs  in  connection  with  the  worship  of  the 
heavenly  powers,  while  Augeas  itself  means  a  being  of 


290 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


»•  iiH» 

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PKMIA 

fVinMil 


streaming  light/’  Light  streamed  from  his  eyes,  and  it  was 
said  expressly  that  he  was  a  son  of  Helios.  His  daughter 
Agamede  is  obviously  identical  in  character  with  Dirce, 
Medea,  and  Megamede,  all  of  whom  represented  by  their 
witchcraft  the  occult  powers  of  the  moon.  Another  feature  '  | 
of  the  story,  which  confirms  the  opinion  that  Augeas  in 
some  way  was  intended  to  illustrate  the  phenomena  of  the  I 
sun’s  light,  is  his  possession  of  herds  of  lambs  and  cattle, 
fabulous  in  numbers  as  are  the  fleecy  clouds,  and  including 
twelve  bulls,  white  as  swans,  and  sacred  to  Helios — one  of 
them  being  called  Phaethon,  and  described  as  glittering  like  J 
a  star.  The  court  of  Augeas  was  by  the  banks  of  the  river 
Peneus,  and  the  task  assigned  to  Hercules  was  to  clear  out  vl 
his  endless  line  of  stalls  alone  and  in  one  day.  To  accom-  I 
plish  this,  the  hero  made  an  opening  through  the  wall  at  a 
part  where  the  river  approached  it.  The  stream,  rushing  in 
at  the  opening,  swept  with  it,  as  it  flowed  along  the  stables,  3 
their  accumulated  dung.  Augeas  had  promised  to  reward  ill 
Hercules  with  a  tenth  of  his  herds;  but  declined  to  fulfil  his 
agreement  on  hearing  that  the  task  had  been  imposed  by  i 
Eurystheus.  This  refusal  afterward  led  to  a  war  between 
Hercules  and  Elis. 

7.  The  Cretan  hull  had  been  presented  by  Poseidon  to 
Minos,  and  by  him  placed  among  the  herd  of  cattle  sacred  ! 
to  the  sun.  How  it  became  wild,  and  how  Pasiphae,  the  wife  ^ 
of  Minos,  conceiving  a  passion  for  it,  followed  it  over  the 
island,  has  been  told  in  connection  with  the  legends  of  Crete.  i; 
The  task  imposed  on  Hercules  was  to  bring  this  bull  to  ! 
Mycenae.  The  first  difficulty  was  to  capture  and  subdue  it,  ^ 
an  act  in  which  he  is  frequently  represented  on  the  painted 
vases.  The  second  was  to  bring  it  over  the  sea  to  Mycenae, 
which  he  did  by  sitting  on  its  back  while  it  swam,  as  did 
Europa  with  Zeus,  in  the  shape  of  a  bull.  As  to  the  fate  of 
the  bull,  it  is  said,  that  Eurystheus  sacrificed  it  to  Hera,  and, 
again,  that  it  escaped,  roved  wildly  over  the  Peloponnesus,  > 
and  was  finally  captured  at  Marathon  by  Theseus.  ^ 


i 


THE  TWELVE  LABORS  OF  HERCULES. 


291 


8.  The  horses  of  Diomedes,  a  king  of  Thrace,  and  reputed 
to  have  been  a  son  of  Ares,  the  god  of  war  and  the  personi¬ 
fication  of  storm.  Like  the  people  whom  he  ruled,  Diomedes 
was  fierce  in  war.  His  seat  was  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Abdera,  where  in  later  times  the  remains  of  his  citadel  was 
pointed  out.  He  was  the  owner  of  certain  horses  which  fed 
on  human  flesh,  and  by  that  means  became  furious  and  so 
powerful  that  they  had  to  be  fastened  with  iron  chains.  The 
human  flesh  on  which  they  fed  was  generally  that  of  persons 
who  had  been  wrecked  on  that  inhospitable  coast.  Her¬ 
cules  was  ordered  to  bring  these  horses  to  Mycenae.  To 
Abdera  he  went  by  sea;  and  on  arriving  overpowered  the 
guards,  and  led  the  horses  away  to  the  shore,  when  he  was 


'Overtaken  by  a  crowd  of  the  subjects  of  Hiomedes.  A  ter¬ 
rible  fight  ensued,  in  which  the  king  fell  at  the  hands  of 
Hercules,  and  was  himself  given  as  food  for  his  horses.  In 
the  course  of  the  combat,  Abderus,  a  beautiful  youth,  of 
whom  Hercules  was  very  fond,  fell  :  and  in  his  honor  the 
hero  raised  a  mound,  and  instituted  games  in  his  honor, 


292 


HEROES. 


which  the  people  of  Abdera  afterward  continued  annually.  | 
After  the  horses  had  been  conveyed  to  Mycenae  and  pre-  j 
sented  to  Eurystheus,  it  is  said  that  they  escaped  among  the  il 
hills  of  Arcadia,  and  were  there  ultimately  devoured  by  wild  |i 
beasts — probably  by  the  wolves  of  Zeus  Lycaeus.  Their 
allegorical  signification  is  clearly  that  of  storms  and  billows,  1; 
and  hence  the  legend  was  located  in  Thrace,  a  country  with  I 
which  we  are  familiar  in  connection  with  other  personifica-  ■ 
tions  of  storm — such  as  Ares,  Lycurgus,  and  Boreas.  | 

9.  The  girdle  of  Hippolyte,  the  queen  of  the  Amazons,  had  [ 
been  a  gift  from  Ares,  and  was  a  symbol  of  the  power  of  a  \ 
rushing  headlong  storm.  The  task  imposed  on  Hercules  was  j 
to  fetch  this  girdle  for  Admete,  the  daughter  of  Eurystheus, 

of  whom  we  learn  elsewhere  that  she  was  a  priestess  of  the  | 
Argive  Hera.  Hercules  slew  the  Amazon,  and  returned  with  I 
the  girdle.  From  this  adventure  appears  to  have  arisen  the  t 
legend  of  a  war  conducted  by  Hercules  agaiust  the  Amazons,  i; 

10.  The  cattle  of  Geryon  or  Geryoneus,  who  was  a  son  of  ! 
Chrysaor  and  the  Oceanid  nymph  Callirrhoe.  In  one  per-  ;! 
son  he  had  three  bodies,  three  heads,  three  pairs  of  legs,  and 
six  arms.  He  was  gigantic  in  size,  heavily  armed,  powerful,  j 
and  provided  with  wings.  The  great  point  in  his  character  ^ 
was  that  he  was  the  lord  of  immense  herds  of  cattle.  Con-  ^r 
sidering  that  the  possession  of  herds  of  cattle  was  also  a  i 
prominent  feature  in  the  character  of  Apollo  and  Helios,  in 
whose  case  the  cattle  represented  the  days  of  the  year,  and  ■ 
considering  further  that  the  local  habitation  of  Geryon, 
though  assigned  to  various  localities,  is  always  assigned  to  a 
place  in  some  way  connected  with  the  worship  of  Helios,  it 
may  be  inferred  that  Geryon  also  was  an  illustration  of  some 

of  the  phenomena  of  the  sky;  and  of  these  phenomena  none 
but  those  of  wintry  storms  correspond  with  his  personal 
appearance  and  vehemence.  Geryon  keeps  his  cattle  at 
night  in  a  dark  cave  in  the  remote  west,  into  which  Hercules 
penetrates,  and  drives  them  away  eastward  toward  the  region 
of  morning  light.  The  expedition  had  three  stages  :  first, 


THE  TWELVE  LABORS  OF  HERCULES. 


293 


the  journey  to  Erytheia,  where  Geryon  lived,  and  which, 
judged  by  the  meaning  of  its  name,  seems  to  be  connected 
with  the  red  glow  of  sunset;  secondly,  the  contest  with 
Geryon;  and,  thirdly,  the  return  to  Mycenae  with  the  cattle. 
Erytheia  was  an  island  somewhere  in  the  remote  west,  be¬ 
yond  the  pillars  of  Hercules;  and  to  reach  it  the  hero 
employed  a  vessel,  obtained,  some  said,  from  Nereus,  while 
others  believed  that  he  had  compelled  Helios  to  lend  him  for 
the  occasion  the  cup  or  vessel  in  which  he  was  accustomed  to 
sail  every  night  round  the  world  from  west  to  east.  On  the 
passage  Hercules  was  alarmed,  or  at  any  rate  disturbed,  by 
a  storm,  which  was  only  appeased  by  his  drawing  his  bow  on 
Oceanus.  Keaching  the  island  he  placed  himself  on  Mount 
Abas,  but  was  observed  by  the  two-headed  dog  of  Geryon, 
and  attacked  by  it.  He  slew  the  dog,  and  was  next  attacked 
by  the  herdsman  Eurytion,  who  also  fell  at  his  hands.  Then 
Menoetius,  who  was  there  watching  the  cattle  of  Helios, 
pointed  out  to  him  the  cattle  of  Geryon,  grazing  in  a 
meadow  by  the  river’s  side.  He  was  in  the  act  of  driving 
them  away,  when  Geryon  himself,  in  all  his  strength  and 
fierceness,  appeared  on  the  scene.  The  combat  was  ended 
by  a  fatal  shaft  from  Hercules.  Shipping  the  cattle  into  the 
vessel  of  the  sun,  and  landing  them  safely,  Hercules  com¬ 
menced  his  homeward  journey  on  foot,  through  Iberia,  Gaul, 
over  the  Alps,  and  down  through  Italy,  with  many  adven¬ 
tures,  in  all  of  which  he  was  successful.  At  Rome  occurred 
the  incident  with  the  robber  Cacus,  which  the  Romans  incor¬ 
porated  among  their  national  legends,  though  the  elements 
of  it  were  obviously  of  a  Greek  origin.  At  the  Phlegraean 
fields,  near  Cumae,  he  fought  the  Giants.  On  the  mountains 
between  Rhegium  and  Locri  his  rest  was  disturbed  by  the 
noise  of  the  grasshoppers,  and  at  his  prayer  the  gods  removed 
these  creatures  from  the  district  forever.  From  the  south 
of  Italy  one  of  his  bulls  escaped  across  the  sea  to  Sicily,  and 
as  it  was  necessary  to  follow  it,  Hercules,  holding  on  by  the 
horns  of  another  bull,  crossed  with  his  herd  to  that  island, 


294 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


through  the  length  and  breadth  of  which  he  appears  to  have 
wandered,  encountering  giants  like  Eryx,  experiencing  kind¬ 
ness  from  the  nymphs  of  Himera  and  Egesta,  at  whose  warm 
springs  he  was  refreshed,  and  everywhere  leaving  reminis¬ 
cences  of  his  visit.  Thence  he  passed  up  the  shores  of  the 
Adriatic,  round  by  Illyria  and  Epirus  to  Ambracia,  where  a 
gadfly,  sent  by  Hera,  caused  his  cattle  to  run  away  in  great 
numbers  to  the  mountains.  With  the  remainder  he  reached 
the  Hellespont,  and  thence  proceeded  to  Mycenae,  where 
Eurystheus  sacrificed  them  to  the  goddess  Hera. 

11.  The  apples  of  the  Hesperides.  According  to  later  story, 
the  last  labor  imposed  on  Hercules  was  to  procure  three  of 
the  golden  apples  which  grew  in  the  garden  of  the  Hesper¬ 
ides;  and  hence  in  works  of  art  which  represent  him  as 
invietuSy  the  invincible,  he  appears  holding  the  apples  in  his 
hand.  As  in  the  case  of  the  cattle  of  Geryon,  here  also 
the  chief  interest  of  the  legend  resides  in  the  adventures  on 
the  way.  As  regards  the  locality  where  this  wonderful  garden 
was  to  be  found,  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion;  some, 
apparently  under  the  influence  of  Phoenician  traditions,  be¬ 
lieving  it  to  have  been  in  the  remote  west,  while  Aeschylus 
and  others  conceived  that  Atlas  and  the  Hesperides  lived  in 
the  northern  region  of  the  Hyperboreans.  From  the  com¬ 
bination  of  both  beliefs  in  later  times,  a  very  wide  scope  was 
given  to  the  adventures  of  the  hero  on  his  way  there  and 
back.  Hercules  himself,  not  knowing  what  direction  to  take, 
is  said  to  have  first  passed  through  Macedonia  and  on  to  the 
Rhone,  where  he  met  certain  nymphs  who  advised  him  that 
Nereus,  the  sea-god,  knew  the  secret,  and  could  be  made  to 
give  it  up.  In  spite  of  tlie  many  transformations  of  Nereus, 
Hercules  compelled  him  to  tell  him  the  way.  He  then  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  Libya,  where  he  found  Antaeus,  a  giant  of  enormous 
strength,  whose  habit  was  to  kill  all  travellers  who  crossed 
the  waste  where  he  lived.  He  was  a  son  of  Poseidon  and 
the  Earth,  deriving  from  his  mother  a  strength  which  ren¬ 
dered  him  invincible  to  those  who  could  not  lift  him  from 


THE  TWELVE  LABORS  OF  HERCULES. 


295 


the  ground,  which  Hercules  did.  The  wrestling  scene  between 
the  two  was  a  favorite  subject  in  ancient  art,  and  commended 
itself  largely  to  the  Greek  youths  as  they  practised  in  the 
palaestra.  When  he  had  conquered  Antaeus,  Hercules  lay 
down  to  rest,  and  in  a  little  while  found  himself  covered  with 
a  host  of  creatures  called  Pygmies,  who  sprang  up  from  the 
waste.  He  wrapped  them  in  his  lion’s  skin  and  killed  them. 
From  Libya  he  went  into  Egypt,  where  he  was  seized  by  the 
orders  of  Busiris  and  conveyed,  as  were  all  strangers,  to  be 
sacrificed  He  burst  his  bonds,  and  offered  up  instead  Busiris, 
his  son,  and  retinue.  From  Egypt  he  went  to  India,  and 
thence  returned  in  a  northerly  direction  toward  the  Caucasus 
mountains,  where  he  set  free  Prometheus,  and  in  return  for 
that  kindly  act  was  told  the  way  on  through  Scythia  to  the 
region  of  the  Hyperboreans,  where  lived  Atlas  and  the  Hes- 
perides.  Part  of  the  arrangement  was  that  Atlas  should 
pluck  the  three  apples  for  him;  and  to  relieve  him  for  that 
purpose  it  was  necessary  that  Hercules  should  take  the  bur¬ 
den  of  the  world  on  his  shoulders.  Atlas  returned  with  the 
apples,  and  naively  proposed  that  he  himself  should  convey 
them  to  Eurystheus.  Hercules  appeared  to  appreciate  the 
proposal,  and  only  wished  first  to  find  a  pad  to  save  his  head 
from  the  weight.  Atlas  did  not  see  the  joke,  and  willingly 
took  the  world  on  his  shoulders  again.  Hercules,  of  course, 
did  not  return.  Another  report  has  it  that  Hercules  himself 
entered  the  garden,  slew  the  dragon  which  watched  the  tree, 
and  carried  off  the  apples  and  returned  with  them  to  Eurys¬ 
theus. 

12.  CerheruSy  the  three-headed  dog  of  Hades,  which 
guarded  the  entrance  to  the  lower  world,  was  a  symbol  of 
the  eternal  darkness  of  Hades.  The  task  of  bringing  it  to 
the  upper  world  was  regarded  in  the  earlier  epic  poetry  as 
the  most  difficult  of  the  labors  of  Hercules.  It  was  sup¬ 
posed  that  he  entered  from  the  upper  world  through  a  chasm 
near  Taenarum,  returning  by  the  same  way.  The  shades  of 
the  dead  fled  in  terror  when  they  beheld  him.  Near  the 

Murray — 22 


296 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OE  HEROES. 


gates  he  found  his  friends  Theseus  and  Peirithous  seated  on  j 
a  rock,  to  which  they  were  attached  as  if  they  had  grown  [ 
from  it,  and  in  great  trouble.  He  freed  Theseus,  but  the 
earth  shook  when  he  tried  to  do  the  same  for  Peirithous. 
To  impart  life  to  the  shades  of  his  friends  whom  he  freed,  !: 
he  obtained  blood  from  one  of  the  cows  of  Hades,  which  he  ^ 
killed  after  a  severe  fight  with  Menoctius,  the  herdsman.  At  i 
last  he  reached  Pluto,  who  agreed  that  he  might  take  Cer-  ;| 
berus,  provided  he  could  do  so  without  the  assistance  of  arms  j 
of  any  kind.  This  he  succeeded  in  doing,  and  leading  the  j 
hated  dog  to  Eurystheus,  completed  his  twelve  labors.  I 

The  labors  of  Hercules  were  a  favorite  subject  with  the  | 
ancient  vase-painters  and  sculptors,  and  of  the  latter  espe-  | 
daily  those  of  later  times  who  worked  for  Roman  patrons,  j 
in  whose  estimation  the  Greek  hero  stood  high.  The  man-  { 
ner  in  which  each  of  the  labors  was  represented  seldom  ; 
varied;  and  from  this  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  type  \ 
of  each  had  originally  been  established  by  Greek  artists  of  j 
celebrity,  from  whose  models  it  would  have  been  presump-  ' 
tion  to  depart. 

As  an  instance  of  how  these  labors  were  represented  col¬ 
lectively,  we  would  cite  a  marble  sarcophagus  in  the  British  j 
Museum,  dating  probably  from  the  third  century  A.  D, 
Without  caring  to  follow  the  chronological  order  usually  | 
accepted,  the  sculptor  has  chosen  to  dispose  his  groups 
according  to  his  ideas  of  artistic  effect,  or  perhaps  according 
to  his  ideas  of  their  importance.  On  the  extreme  left  of  the 
front  we  find  Hercules  dragging  Cerberus  out  of  Hades,  the  I 
mouth  of  which  is  represented  as  the  rocky  entrance  to  a 
cave.  Among  the  rocks  is  hiding  a  nude  diminutive  figure,  | 
which  may  be  taken  to  be  one  of  the  shades  of  the  dead,  who,  n 
as  it  was  said,  fled  in  terror  when  they  beheld  the  hero,  i 
Next  to  this  is  a  group  of  Hercules  removing  the  girdle  of  , 
the  Amazon  Hippolyte,  who  lies  dead  at  his  feet.  Then  we  I 
have  the  scene  in  the  garden  of  the  Hesperides,  then  the  I 
taming  of  the  horses  of  Diomedes,  and  lastly  the  strangling'  ; 


THE  TWELVE  LABOES  OF  HERCULES. 


297 


of  the  JN^emean  lion.  On  one  end  of  the  sarcophagus  he 
appears  slaying  the  Lernean  hydra,  and  on  the  other  captur¬ 
ing  the  Ceryneian  stag.  In  these  last  three  groups  he  is 
figured  represented  as  beardless  and  of  a  youthful  figure,  while 
in  the  others  his  form  has  become  colossal,  and  his  features 
marked  with  toil.  On  the  lid  are  sculptured,  on  a  smaller 
scale,  the  five  remaining  labors,  of  which  the  first,  beginning 
from  the  left  hand,  is  the  bringing  of  the  Erymanthian  boar; 
next  to  that  we  find  Hercules  hard  at  work  with  a  pickaxe, 


making  an  opening,  as  it  seems,  into  the  wall  of  the  Augean 
stables;  the  third  scene  represents  him  shooting  the  Stympha- 
lian  birds;  in  the  fourth  he  is  engaged  in  subduing  the  Cretan 
bull;  and  in  the  fifth  he  fights  with  the  triple-bodied  giant, 
Geryon.  These  five  labors  are  shut  in  on  the  left  by  the 
scene  where  Hercules,  as  an  infant,  strangles  the  snake  sent 
by  Hera,  and  on  the  right  by  a  group  representing  him  seated 
after  his  labors,  and  receiving  a  cup  of  wine  from  the  god¬ 
dess  Victory,  while  Athene  gtands  by. 


298 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 

Hekcules  as  a  National  Hero. 

In  addition  to  the  twelve  labors  imposed  by  Eurystheus,  \ 
and  apparently  after  the  expiry  of  his  servitude  to  that  mon-  | 
arch,  Hercules  performed  many  other  wonderful  feats,  which 
caused  his  name  to  be  surrounded  with  glory.  Of  these  it  [; 
lias  already  been  mentioned  that  he  wrestled  with  and  van-  ; 
quished  the  Giant  Antaeus,  who  lived  in  Gyrene,  on  the  north 
coast  of  Africa,  and  slew  all  who  came  in  his  way,  and  that  j 
in  Egypt  he  slew  Busiris,  whose  practice  had  been  to  sacri¬ 
fice  all  strangers  that  entered  his  dominions.  Next  we  find  I 
him  among  the  Caucasus  mountains,  where,  having  shot  the  ; 
bird  that  gnawed  the  liver  of  Prometheus,  he  set  the  Titan  f| 
free.  He  saved  Alcestis,  the  wife  of  Admetus,  king  of  i; 
Pherae,  under  the  following  circumstances  :  Admetus,  being  i 
sick,  had  caused  an  inquiry  to  be  made  of  an  oracle  as  to  the  | 

issue  of  his  illness,  and  was  told  in  reply  that  he  would  die  i' 

unless  some  one  could  be  found  to  volunteer  to  lay  down  his  I 
life  for  him.  For  this  his  wife,  Alcestis,  offered  herself, 
and  would  have  been  carried  off  to  the  shades,  but  for  Her-  |j 

cules,  who  seized  the  god  of  death  in  his  strong  arms,  and  ! 

held  him  till  he  promised  to  allow  her  to  remain  with  her 
husband. 

He  accompanied  the  expedition  of  the  Argonauts  in  search  j' 
of  the  golden  fleece,  and  took  part  in  the  first  war  against  Troy, 
along  with  Telamon,  the  father  of  Ajax,  Peleus,  the  father 
of  Achilles,  and  Oicles,  the  father  of  Amphiaraus.  The 
cause  of  this  war  was  a  breach  of  faith  on  the  part  of  Lao- 
medon,  the  king  of  Troy,  who,  in  consideration  of  Hercules 
having  rescued  his  daughter  Hesione  from  the  jaws  of  a 
sea-monster,  had  promised  her  hand  to  Hercules.  Laomedon 
was  besieged  in  his  citadel,  finally  was  taken  prisoner,  and 
slain  along  with  his  sons — all  except  Podarces,  whose  life  ’ 
was  spared  on  the  entreaty  of  Hesione.  Telamon  was 
rewarded  with  the  hand  of  Hesione.  Podarces  assumed  the 
name  of  Priamus,  and,  after  the  withdrawal  of  Hercules 


HERCULES  AS  A  NATIONAL  HERO. 


299 


and  his  expedition,  established  a  new  dynasty  in  Troy.  On 
the  way  home  Hercules  and  his  companions  were  compelled 
to  take  shelter  from  a  storm  at  Cos,  but  were  refused  hospi¬ 
tality  by  the  inhabitants.  For  this  they  destroyed  the  town. 


Hercules  at  the  Feet  of  Oraphale. 

In  an  expedition  against  Pylos,  Hercules  succeeded,  with 
the  assistance  of  Athene,  in  overcoming  Pericly menus,  a 


800 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROER. 


ts 

-i 

Cw 

"II 

\:xl 

tZ9 

Q.t: 


*ht 


c:3( 


srjel 

itisE 

tJfclK' 


strange  being,  who  had  the  power  of  assuming  any  form  lie 
pleased.  He  next  proceeded  to  Lacedaemon,  to  assist  his 
friend  Tyndareus,  the  rightful  ruler  of  that  state,  against 
the  family  of  Hippocoontides,  by  whom  he  had  been  ex-  I 
pelled — this  undertaking  being  also  crowned  with  success,  | 
though  it  entailed  the  loss,  among  others  of  his  companions,  ■ 
of  the  sons  of  Cepheus,  king  of  Tegea.  Tyndareus  was  j 
reinstated. 

Whether  it  was  on  the  conclusion  of  the  labors  imposed  ; 
on  him  by  Eurystheus,  or  at  some  other  period  of  his  life,  ; 
Hercules  is  said  to  have  once  returned  to  Thebes,  exhausted 
by  toil,  and  to  have  fallen  into  violent  illness,  followed  by  ; 
raving,  in  the  course  of  which  he  committed  many  unfortu-  ' 
nate  acts,  among  others  attempting  to  carry  off  the  sacred 
tripod  from  the  sanctuary  of  Aj)ollo  at  Delphi.  Being  after¬ 
ward  informed  by  the  oracle  of  Apollo  that  the  crimes  he 
had  committed  through  his  insanity  could  be  expiated  by  a 
period  of  three  years’  servitude,  he  offered  his  services  to  j 
Omphale,  queen  of  Lydia,  and  there,  as  elsewhere,  distin-  i 
guished  himself  chiefly  for  the  assistance  he  rendered  to  the  -  1 
oppressed,  and  for  the  valor  of  his  deeds.  | 

The  Death  and  Deification  of  Hekcules. 

•* 

Hercules,  it  would  seem,  had  wooed  lole,  a  daughter  of 
Eurytus,  king  of  Oechalia,  but  had  been  ultimately  refused 
her  hand,  in  spite  of  his  having  fulfilled  all  the  conditions 
laid  down  by  her  father.  Turning  elsewhere,  he  became  a 
suitor  of  Deianeira,  a  daughter  of  Oeneus,  king  of  Calydon, 
who  offered  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  the  man  who  should  1 
vanquish  the  river-god  Achelous  in  wrestling.  Having  j 
proved  himself  more  than  a  match  for  the  river-god,  Her¬ 
cules  obtained  Deianeira  in  marriage,  and  next  proceeded  to  ; 
punish  the  father  of  lole  for  his  deceit.  Having  taken  the 
stronghold  of  Oechalia,  he  put  the  king  and  his  children  to  I 
death,  with  the  exception  of  lole,  whom  he  carried  off';  but  I 


DEATH  AND  DEIFICATION  OF  HERCULES.  301 


fiistead  of  returning  home  directly,  proceeded  with  her  to  a 


The  Marriage  of  Hercules  and  Hebe. 


promontory  in  Euboea,  intending  to  offer  a  sacrifice  to  Zeus. 
Deianeira,  hearing  of  this,  and  being  jealous  of  a  revival  of 


302 


HEROES. 


c » 

•  c 

IXv 

<s 

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•»v< 

CTa 

•M7. 1% 


her  husband’s  former  love  for  lole,  took  the  white  robe  in 
which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  offer  sacrifices,  steeped  it  in 
some  preparation  given  her  by  the  Centaur  Nessus,  as  a  charm 
to  bring  back  her  husband's  love,  and  sent  it  by  her  son 
Lichas  to  Hercules.  She  was  not  aware  that  the  preparation 
contained  the  deadliest  poison.  Hercules  had  hardly  put  on 
the  robe,  when  he  was  seized  with  violent  pain — the  poison 
entering  into  his  frame.  Death  appeared  to  be  inevitable. 
He  caused  a  pyre  of  wood  to  be  erected  on  Mount  Oeta,  set 
fire  to  it,  and  after  handing  over  his  unerring  bow  and  arrows 
to  his  friend  Philoctetes,  mounted  the  fire  and  was  consumed 
in  its  flames.  His  spirit,  it  was  said,  passed  away  in  a  cloud, 
and  was  conducted  by  Iris  and  Hermes  to  Olympus,  where, 
after  being  reconciled  to  Hera,  he  was  married  to  the  goddess 
Hebe,  and  enjoyed  immortality  and  the  esteem  of  all  the 
gods.  Deianeira,  meantime  having  heard  of  the  calamity 
she  had  caused,  put  herself  to  death. 

While  ancient  poets  familiarized  the  people  with  the  ex¬ 
ploits  of  Hercules,  artists  found  in  them  an  endless  variety 
of  subjects,  as  the  collections  of  sculptures  and  painted  vases 
still  testify.  In  the  schools  he  was  held  up  as  an  embodi¬ 
ment  of  heroic  virtue,  and  everywhere  honor  was  done  to 
him. 


THESEUS. 


cS  The  friend,  and  in  many  respects  the  counterpart  of  Her- 

zi  (mles,  was  Theseus,  a  son  of  Aeg-eus,  king  of  Attica,  and 

Aethra,  a  daughter  of  Pittheus,  king  of  Troezen.  While 
his  mother  was  a  descendant  of  Pelops,  his  father  was  of  the 
{SHi  line  of  Erechtheus.  Theseus,  brought  up  under  the  care  of 
his  grandfather,  Pittheus,  whose  wisdom  and  virtue  were 
well  known,  soon  gave  promise  of  great  strength  and  skill 
in  athletic  exercises,  such  as  were  then  prescribed  for  youths, 
and,  moreover,  became  a  proficient  in  playing  the  lyre.  His 
father,  Aegeus,  on  taking  leave  of  his  mother,  Aethra,  at 


THESEUS. 


303 


Troezen,  had  secreted  his  sword  and  sandals  under  a  great 
rock,  and  told  her  that  when  the  boy  was  able  to  move  the 
rock,  he  might  come  to  him  at  Athens,  bringing  the  sword 
and  sandals  as  a  token.  When  only  in  his  sixteenth  year, 
Theseus  accomplished  this  task,  and  at  once  set  out  for 
Athens,  where  Medea,  who  was  then  living  with  Aegeus, 
tried  to  compass  his  death,  but  her  plan  haying  failed,  fled. 


Theseus. 


On  his  way  to  Athens  Theseus  was  the  hero  of  several 
exploits  resembling  more  or  less  the  feats  which  Hercules 
performed  in  his  youth.  He  slew  Periphates,  whose  prac¬ 
tice  had  been  to  crush  with  a  blow  of  his  iron  club  all  trav¬ 
ellers  across  the  pathless  district  between  Troezen  and 
Epidaurus.  On  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  Theseus  met  and 
overcame  Sinis,  the  robber,  who  was  the  terror  of  the  neigh¬ 
borhood.  It  was  to  commemorate  this  feat,  it  was  said,  that 
Theseus  established  the  Isthmian  games.  At  Crommyon  he 
slew  the  wild  boar  that  was  laying  waste  the  country  round. 
He  threw  Sciron  from  a  high  cliff  into  the  sea — a  death  to 
which  that  robber  had  doomed  many  unlucky  travellers. 
At  Eleusis  he  slew  the  powerful  Cercyon,  and  afterward 
Damastes  (usually  called  Procrustes),  whose  manner  of 
killing  his  victims  was  to  place  them  on  a  bed  which  was 
always  either  too  long  or  too  short :  if  too  short,  he  would 


304 


THE  EARLIER  RAGE  OF  HEROES. 


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cut  off  part  of  the  victim  to  suit  the  bed;  if  too  long,  he 
would  stretch  his  victim  to  the  required  length. 

Arriving  at  Athens,  Theseus  was  purified  from  all  this 
bloodshed  by  the  grateful  inhabitants.  It  happened  that, 
because  of  the  long  Ionian  dress  which  he  wore,  and  his  long 
hair,  which  gave  him  the  appearance  of  a  girl,  some  scoffed 
at  him  for  going  about  alone  in  public.  To  show  that  he 
was  far  from  being  so  effeminate  as  he  seemed,  he  unyoked  a 
laden  wagon  that  was  standing  by,  and  threw  it  up  in  the 
air,  to  the  astonishment  of  all. 


f 


His  next  exploit  was  against  the  family  of  giauts,  fifty  in 
number,  called  Pallantides,  sons  of  his  uncle  Pallas,  who 
were  endeavoring  to  get  rid  of  Theseus,  in  the  hope  of  sue-  I 
ceeding  to  the  government  of  Athens  at  the  death  of  their  | 
uncle  Aegeus.  His  extraordinary  strength  enabled  him  to  j 
overpower  them.  He  then  proceeded  to  Mamthon,  where,  j 
as  we  liave  already  said,  in  connection  with  the  labors  of  ! 
Hercules,  a  furious  bull  was  destroying  the  plains.  He  ca[)  i 

tured  and  led  it  off  to  Athens,  where  he  sacrificed  it  to  the  j 

goddess  Athene,  who  had  lent  him  her  aid  in  the  enterprise.  j 
But  the  adventure  in  which  he  gained  the  greatest  glory 
was  his  slaying  tlie  Minotaurus,  a  monster  of  which  we  have 
given  a  description  in  connection  with  the  legends  of  Crete, 
where  we  have  also  explained  why  Athens  was  compelled  to 
send  a  tribute  of  young  men  and  maidens  as  victims  to  the  ' 
Minotaurus.  Theseus  offered  himself  as  a  victim,  and  in  time  ! 
arrived  with  the  others  in  Crete.  Before  the  sacrifice  took  ! 

place,  however,  he  had  won  the  favor  of  Ariadne,  the  i 

^  I 

daughter  of  Minos,  and  had  obtained  from  her  a  clue  of  | 
thread,  by  holding  on  to  which  he  might  find  his  way  back  ; 
out  of  the  labyrinth  in  which  the  Minotaur  lived.  The  ! 
intricacies  of  its  passages  would  have  otherwise  been  a  source 
of  danger  against  which  his  great  strength  would  not  have 
served  him.  On  a  very  ancient  vase  in  the  British  Museum 
there  is  a  picture  in  which  Ariadne  is  represented  as  holding  j, 
the  one  end  of  the  clue,  while  Theseus  in  the  interior  of  the  ^  i 


THESEUS. 


305 


labyrinth  is  slaying  the  monster.  Having  by  this  act  freed 
Athens  forever  from  the  cruel  tribute,  Theseus  and  his  com¬ 
panions  set  out  on  the  homeward  voyage,  accompanied  also 
Dy  Ariadne.  But  at  the  island  of  Naxos  he  abandoned  her, 
fearing  to  take  a  stranger  home  as  his  wife.  Her  grief  on 
awaking  and  seeing  the  ship  far  away  that  conveyed  her  lover 
was  intense,  and  has  been  commemorated  frequently  both  by 
poets  and  artists.  She  was  found  sorrowing  by  the  young 
wine-god  Dionysus,  by  whose  influence  her  joy  returned. 

Meanwhile  the  arrival  of  the  ship  was  being  anxiously 


Ariadne  Abandoned. 


'looked  for  at  Athens.  That  the  good  news  might  be  known 
more  quickly,  Theseus  himself  had  promised,  when  he  set 
out,  to  hoist  a  white  flag  when  he,  sighted  Attica,  if  success¬ 
ful.  In  his  joy,  however,  he  had  forgotten  the  promise,  and 
sailed  toward  the  port  with  the  black  colors  with  which  he 
had  started.  On  seeing  this,  his  father,  Aegeus,  gave  way 
to  grief  at  the  supposed  loss  of  his  son,  and  put  an  end  to 
his  life. 

Among  the  other  adventures  in  which  Theseus  took  part 


306 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


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were  the  expedition  of  the  Argonauts  and  that  of  Hercules 
against  the  Amazons.  In  the  latter  expedition  he  had,  as  it 
was  said,  carried  off  Hippolyte,  whose  girdle  Hercules  had 
been  commanded  by  Eurystheus  to  obtain.  For  the  carry¬ 
ing  off  of  their  queen,  a  great  body  of  the  Amazons  invaded 
Attica,  but  were  repulsed  by  Theseus. 

His  warm  friendship  for  the  Thessalian  prince  Pirithous 
gave  Theseus  two  opportunities  of  displaying  his  heroic 
qualities.  The  first  was  at  the  marriage  of  his  friend — at 
which,  as  has  been  previously  related,  the  Centaurs  present 
at  the  banquet,  becoming  fired  with  wine,  raised  a  tumult,  and 
would  have  carried  off  the  bride  but  for  the  resistance  of 
Theseus.  The  second  occasion  was  when  Pirithous,  having 
conceived  a  passion  for  Persephone,  audaciously  resovled  to 
carry  her  away  from  the  lower  world,  and  was  aided  by 
Theseus.  The  attempt  failed,  however,  and  both  were  kept 
in  chains  in  the  lower  world  till  Hercules  released  them. 

After  the  death  of  his  father  Theseus  succeeded  to  the 
government  of  Athens,  lived  in  splendor,  ruled  with  pru¬ 
dence,  and  introduced  institutions  of  a  most  liberal  kind 
among  his  people.  He  united  the  various  independent  and 
previously  hostile  villages  of  Attica  into  one  state,  with 
Athens  as  its  head.  He  enriched  and  gave  a  new  impulse 
to  the  great  festival  of  the  Panathenaea,  that  had  been 
established  by  Erechtheus.  In  the  island  of  Delos  he  founded 
an  annual  festival  accompanied  by  games,  at  which  the  prize 
was  a  wreath  of  the  sacred  palm-tree.  In  Athens  the  festival 
of  Pyanepsia,  in  honor  of  Apollo,  and  Oschophoria,  in 
honor  of  Dionysus,  were  both  said  to  have  been  established 
by  him.  He  met  his  death,  it  was  said,  at  the  hands  of 
Lycomedes,  to  whose  court  he  had  retired  on  the  occasion 
of  a  tumult  in  Athens.  His  wife  was  Phaedra,  a  daughter 
of  Minos,  of  Crete;  according  to  another  report,  Antiope. 

The  memory  of  his  deeds  was  preserved  by  a  beautiful 
temple  in  Athens,  erected  for  that  purpose,  and  called  the 
Theseum. 


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THE  HUNT  OF  THE  CALYDONIAN  BOAR 


307 


THE  HUNT  OF  THE  CALYDONIAN  BOAR. 
At  the  head  of  this  expedition  was  Meleager,  a  son  of 


Meleager. 

Oeneus,  the  king  of  Calydon,  and  his  wife  Althaea;  Deia-* 


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308  2"^^  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 

neira,  the  wife  of  Hercules,  being  a  daughter  of  the  same 
pair.  At  the  birth  of  Meleager  the  Parcae  appeared  to 
Althaea,  it  would  seem,  Atropos  telling  her  that  her  infant  | 
would  live  as  long  as  a  brand  which  she  pointed  to  on  the  | 
fire  remained  unconsumed.  Althaea  snatched  it  that  moment  j: 
from  the  flames,  and  hid  it  away  carefully,  and  thus  secured  ^ 
the  invulnerability  of  her  son.  On  growing  to  manhood  he  I 
took  part  in  the  Argonautic  expedition,  and  is  said  to  have 
signalized  himself  by  many  acts  of  bravery;  but  the  enter-  j| 
prise  with  which  his  fame  was  most  associated  was  the  sue-  jj 
cessful  hunt  of  the  ferocious  boar  that  was  laying  waste  the  ji 
country  round  Calydon,  defying  the  spears  and  hounds  of 
ordinary  huntsmen.  | 

Meleager  sent  messengers  round  Greece  to  invite  all  its  !' 
bravest  heroes  to  Calydon  to  join  him  in  the  hunt.  There  |i 
came  Idas  and  Lynceus  from  Messene,  Castor  and  Poly- 
deuces  (Pollux)  from  Lacedaemon,  Theseus  from  Athens,  : 
Admetus  from  Pherae,  Ancaeus  and  the  beautiful  Ata-  i 
lanta  from  Arcadia,  Jason  from  lolcus,  Peleus  from  Thes-  | 
saly,  and  many  other  well-proved  heroes.  After  enjoying  | 
for  nine  days,  as  was  usual,  the  hospitality  of  Meleager,  they  I 
prepared  on  the  tenth  for  the  chase,  which,  with  a  few  acci-  i 
dents,  resulted  in  the  death  of  the  boar  by  the  spear  of  Melea-  :! 
ger,  to  whom  accordingly  fell  the  trophy  of  the  monster^  s  ] 
head  and  skin. 

In  art  he  is  represented  standing  beside  an  altar  shaded  ;  ij 
by  a  laurel-tree,  holding  two  spears  in  his  hand.  His  dog  : 
looks  up  to  him.  The  head  of  the  boar  lies  on  the  altar. 

As,  however,  Atalanta  had  been  the  first  to  wound  the 
boar,  Meleager  made  that  a  pretext  for  presenting  her  with 
its  skin.  But  on  her  way  homeward  to  Arcadia  she  was 
met  and  forcibly  robbed  of  it  by  the  brothers  of  Althaea, 
the  mother  of  Meleager,  who  considered  that  they  had  a 
superior  claim  to  that  part  of  the  booty.  A  quarrel  arose 
on  that  account  between  Meleager  and  his  uncles;  they 
fought,  and  the  end  of  it  was  that  the  uncles  were  slain. 


THE  EXPEDITION  OF  THE  ARGONAUTS  309 


To  avenge  their  death,  Althaea  cast  the  brand,  which  up  till 
then  she  had  carefully  preserved,  into  the  fire,  and  thereupon 
her  brave  son  was  seized  with  dreadful  pain,  and  died. 
Grief  at  the  rashness  of  her  act  caused  the  mother  to  kill 
herself. 

THE  EXPEDITION  OF  THE  ARGONAUTS. 

To  understand  the  object  of  this  expedition,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  go  back  a  little  into  the  genealogy  of  the  person 
at  whose  instance  it  was  conducted.  That  person  was  Jason, 


a  son  of  Aeson,  the  rightful  king  of  lolcus  in  Thessaly, 
aud  his  wife  Alcimede.  The  father  of  Aeson  was  Aeolus 
(a  son  of  Hellen  and  a  grandson  of  Deucalion),  at  whose 
death  he  succeeded  to  the  throne,  but  was  driven  from  it  by 
Pelias,  his  step-brother,  at  whose  hands  he  and  all  his  rela¬ 
tives  suffered  cruel  persecution.  The  boy  Jason  was  saved 
from  harm  by  some  of  his  father’s  friends,  and  placed  under 
the  care  and  instruction  of  the  Centaur  Chiron.  At  the 
age  of  twenty  he  was  told  by  an  oracle  to  present  himself  to 

Murray — 23  •  -j 


310 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


Pelias,  and  claim  his  father’s  kingdom.  Pelias  also  had 
learned  from  the  oracle  that  a  descendant  of  Aeolus  would 
dethrone  him,  and,  moreover,  that  the  descendant  in  question 
would  appear  to  him  for  the  first  time  with  only  one  sandal 
to  his  feet.  Pelias,  the  usurper,  was,  therefore,  anxiously 
looking  out  for  the  approach  of  a  person  in  this  plight.  It 
happened  that  the  river  Enipeus  was  swollen  when  Jason 
reached  it,  on  his  way  to  put  forth  his  claim  against  Pelias. 
But  Hera,  the  patron  goddess  of  lolcus,  taking  the  form  of 
an  old  woman,  conveyed  him  across,  with  no  loss  except  that 
of  one  sandal.  On  his  arrival  at  lolcus,  Pelias  recognized 
him  as  the  rightful  heir  referred  to  by  the  oracle,  but,  at  the 
same  time,  was  unwilling  to  abdicate  in  his  favor.  He  would 
prefer  that  Jason  should  first  do  something  in  the  way  of 
heroic  enterprise,  and,  as  a  suitable  adventure  of  that  kind, 
proposed  that  he  should  fetch  the  golden  fleece  from  Colchis. 
Jason  agreed  to  this,  and  set  about  building  the  Argo,  the 
largest  ship  that  had  as  yet  sailed  from  Greece.  The  god¬ 
dess  Athene  aided  him  with  her  skill  and  advice  in  the  work, 
as  did  also  Hera.  When  the  ship  was  ready,  Jason  sent 
messengers  to  invite  the  foremost  heroes  of  Greece  to  join 
him  in  his  enterprise.  Among  the  many  who  accepted  his 
invitation  were  Hercules,  Castor  and  Pollux,  Meleager, 
Orpheus,  Peleus,  IN^eleus,  Admetus,  Theseus, his  friend  Piri- 
thous,  and  the  two  sons  of  Boreas,  Calais  and  Zetes. 

Turning  now  to  the  story  of  the  golden  fleece,  the  finding 
of  which  was  the  object  of  so  powerful  an  expedition,  we 
must  go  back  to  Aeolus,  whom  we  have  mentioned  above  as 
grandfather  of  Jason  and  son  of  Hellen.  This  Aeolus  had, 
besides  Aeson,  another  son,  Athamas,  who  married  Nephele, 
and  had  two  children,  Phrixus  and  Helle.  On  the  death  of 
his  wife,  Athamas  married  a  second  time  Ino,  a  daughter  of 
Cadmus,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  Learchus  and  Meli- 
certes.  The  second  wife,  disliking  her  two  step-children, 
made  several  attempts  on  their  lives.  To  save  them  from 
further  danger,  the  shade  of  their  mother,  it  was  said,  appeared 


THE  EXPEDITION  OF  THE  ARGONAUTS.  311 

to  Phrixus,  bringing  at  the  same  time  a  large  ram  with  a 
golden  fleece,  on  which  she  proposed  Phrixus  and  Helle 
should  escape  over  the  sea.  They  started  according  to  her 
advice,  and  Phrixus  reached  safely  the  opposite  shore,  but 
Helle  fell  from  the  ram’s  back  into  the  sea  and  was  drowned. 
The  name  of  Hellespont  was  in  consequence  given  to  the 


Phrixus  and  Helle. 


strait  which  they  had  to  cross.  Phrixus,  having  reached  the 
other  side,  proceeded  to  Colchis,  on  the  farthest  shore  of  the 
Black  Sea,  and  there  sacrificed  the  ram  to  Zeus,  in  honor  of 
his  safety.  He  hung  the  golden  fleece  up  in  the  temple  of 
Ares. 

Previous  to  starting  from  lolcus,  Jason  offered  a  sacrifice 
to  Zeus,  calling  upon  the  god  for  a  sign  of  his  favor,  or  dis¬ 
pleasure  if  it  should  be  so.  Zeus  answered  with  thunder 
and  lightning,  which  was  taken  as  a  favorable  omen.  The 


312 


THE  EARLIER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


expedition  proceeded  first  to  Lemnos,  where  the  heroes  were 
kindly  received,  remained  a  long  time,  and  became  the  fathers 
of  a  new  race  of  heroes.  The  women  of  the  island  had,  it 
would  seem,  at  the  instigation  of  Aphrodite,  slain  their  hus¬ 


bands.  One  of  the  Lemnian  women,  Hypsipyle,  bore  a  son 


to  Jason,  and  called  him  Euneus.  Leaving  Lemnos  and  its 


festive  life,  the  Argonauts  continued  their  journey  as  far  as 
Cyzicus,  where  they  landed  for  a  short  time,  and  were  in  the 
act  of  leaving  when  Hercules,  having  broken  his  oar,  left 
the  ship,  accompanied  by  Hylas,  to  cut  a  new  oar  in  the 
wood.  But  some  nymphs,  admiring  the  beauty  of  young 
Hylas,  carried  him  off;  and  as  Hercules  would  not  leave  the 
country  without  him,  the  expedition  was  compelled  to  pro¬ 
ceed  without  the  assistance  and  companionship  of  the  great 
hero.  Their  next  landing  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
modern  Scutari,  where  the  reigning  king,  Amycus,  was 
famed  as  a  boxer  and  for  his  cruelty  to  all  strangers  who 
entered  his  territories.  Seeing  the  Argonauts  land  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  fresh  water,  he  sent  them,  as  was  his 
custom,  a  challenge  to  match  him  with  a  boxer,  which  Pollux 
accepted,  and  proved  the  skill  by  which  he  earned  his  fame 
upon  the  boastful  Amycus.  Proceeding  on  their  journey, 
they  passed  through  the  perilous  entrance  to  the  Black  Sea 
in  safety,  owing  their  escape  from  its  dangers  to  the  advice 
of  Phineus,  the  blind  and  aged  king  of  the  district,  whom 
they  had  found  suffering  great  distress  on  account  of  his  food 
being  always  carried  off  or  polluted  by  the  Harpies  just  as 
he  sat  down  to  eat  it.  This  punishment,  as  well  as  his  blind- 


tS'  cruelty  to  his  wife  (a  daughter  of  Boreas)  and  children. 


The  Harpies  were  driven  away  effectually  by  the  two  sons  of 
Boreas,  who  accompanied  the  Argonauts;  and  it  was  in  return 
for  this  kindness  that  Phineus  communicated  his  plan  for  a 
safe  passage  through  the  Symplegades,  two  great  cliffs  that 
moved  upon  their  bases,  and  crushed  everything  that  ven¬ 
tured  to  pass  between.  His  plan  was  first  to  fly  a  pigeon 


THE  EXPEDITION  OF  THE  AUQONAUTS.  SI 3 


through  between  them,  and  then  the  moment  that  the  cliffs, 
having  closed  upon  the  pigeon,  began  to  retire  to  each  side 
to  row  the  Argo  swiftly  through  the  passage.  It  was  done, 
and  before  the  cliffs  could  close  upon  her,  the  ship,  all  but 
her  rudder,  had  got  clear  of  danger.  From  that  time  the 
Symplegades  were  united  into  one  rock. 

After  many  other  adventures  the  expedition  at  last  reached 
Colchis,  where  they  found  Aeetes,  a  reputed  son  of  Helios 
and  Perseis,  reigning  as  king.  He  refused  to  give  up  the 


Medea,  Jason,  and  the  Golden  Fleece. 


golden  fleece,  except  to  the  man  who  should  acquit  himself 
to  his  satisfaction  in  certain  enterprises  which  he  proposed. 
The  first  was  to  yoke  to  a  plough  his  unmanageable  bulls, 
that  snorted  fire  and  had  hoofs  of  brass,  and  to  plough  the 
field  of  Ares  with  them.  That  done,  the  field  was  to  be 
sown  with  a  dragon’s  teeth,  from  which  armed  men  were  to 
spring  in  the  furrows.  The  hero  who  succeeded  so  far  was 
then  to  be  permitted  to  fetch,  if  he  could,  the  golden  fleece, 


Sl4 


THE  EABLtEjR  BACE  OE  HEBOES. 


which  hung  on  an  oak  in  a  grove  sacred  to  Ares,  and  was 
watched  continually  by  a  monstrous  dragon.  Medea,  the 
daughter  of  Aeetes,  having  conceived  a  passion  for  Jason, 
prepared  him  for  these  dangerous  tasks  by  means  of  a  witch’s 
mixture  which  made  him  proof  against  fire  and  sword.  The 
goddess  Athene  also  helped  him,  and  his  success  was  com¬ 
plete. 

The  Argonauts  now  commenced  their  homeward  voyage, 
Jason  taking  with  him  Medea.  On  missing  his  daughter, 
Aeetes  gave  pursuit.  Seeing  that  he  was  overtaking  them, 
Medea,  to  divert  his  course,  dismembered  her  young  brother, 
Absyrtus,  whom  she  had  taken  with  her,  and  cast  the  limbs 
about  in  the  sea.  The  delay  caused  to  AecJes  in  collecting 
the  pieces  of  his  child,  enabled  Medea  and  Jason  to  escape. 
According  to  another  report,  Absyrtus  liad  by  that  time 
grown  to  manhood,  and  met  his  death  in  an  encounter  with 
Jason,  in  pursuit  of  whom  he  had  been  sent  by  his  father. 

After  passing  through  many  other  dangers,  Jason  at  last 
reached  lolcus,  and,  presenting  the  golden  fleece  to  Pelias, 
claimed  the  throne  as  agreed  upon.  But  Pelias  still  refused 
to  abdicate.  Jason  therefore  slew  him,  and  assumed  the 
government  of  lolcus,  together  with  that  of  Corinth,  where 
Aeetes,  the  father  of  Medea,  had,  it  is  said,  ruled  before  he 
went  to  Colchis. 

Ten  years  of  peace  followed  the  accession  of  Jason  to  tlic 
throne.  The  origin  of  the  troubles  that  fell  upon  the  royal 
house  thereafter  was  an  attachment  formed  by  Jason  for  tlie 
beautiful  Creusa  (or  Glance,  as  others  called  her),  whom  he 
made  his  wife  in  Corinth.  Medea,  stung  with  jealousy, 
turned  to  the  arts  of  witchcraft  she  had  learned  in  Colchis, 
and  having  steeped  a  dress  and  a  costly  wreath  in  poison, 
sent  them  to  her  rival,  and  by  that  means  caused  her  death. 
Not  content  with  that,  she  set  fire  to  the  palace  of  Creon,  the 
father  of  Creusa;  and  further,  finding  Jason  enraged  at  what 
she  had  done,  she  put  to  death  the  children  she  herself  had 
borne  to  him,  and  fled  to  Athens,  where,  as  we  have  seen, 


THE  EXPEDITION  OF  THE  ARGONAUTS.  315 


she  lived  for  a  time  with  Aegeus.  Thence  also  she  had  to 
escape  in  consequence  of  an  attempt  on  the  life  of  Theseus. 
She  went  back  to  Colchis,  some  believed,  in  a  chariot  drawn 
by  winged  dragons. 


f  ■  ^  . . — 

■  J 

i 


Medea. 


Jason,  it  is  said,  depressed  by  his  troubles,  repaired  to  the 
sanctuary  on  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  where  the  Argo  had 
been  consecrated  in  the  grove  of  Poseidon.  On  approaching 
the  ship,  part  of  the  stern  gave  way,  fell  upon  him,  and 
caused  his  death.  Another  version  of  the  story  says  that  he 
took  his  own  life. 


THE  YOUNGER  RACE  OF  HEROES,  AND 
THE  WARS  AGAINST  THEBES 
AND  TROY. 


The  heroes  of  the  succeeding  age  were  regarded  as  sons  [ 
or  grandsons  of  those  whom  we  have  just  described,  the  great  t 
events  of  the  period  in  which  they  lived  being  the  two  wars  | 
against  Thebes  and  Troy.  It  has  already  been  observed  that 
the  accounts  of  these  wars,  though  apparently  having  some 
foundation  in  historical  facts,  are  altogether  mythical  in  their 
form  and  interwoven  with  incidents  of  a  wholly  mythical  !: 
character. 

These  two  events,  more  than  any  of  the  other  adventures  i 
of  heroes,  formed  the  favorite  subject  of  the  national  poetry 
of  Greece,  the  incidents  of  each  having  been,  as  a  whole  or  t 
in  part,  worked  up  into  a  long  series  of  epic  poems  and  ; 
tragedies,  of  which,  with  two  exceptions,  only  fragments  re¬ 
main  to  our  times.  These  exceptions  are  the  Iliad  and 
Odyssey — the  oldest,  it  is  believed,  and  at  the  same  time  i 
the  most  celebrated,  of  the  epic  poems  upon  the  subject 
of  the  war  against  Troy,  the  reputed  author  of  them  being 
Homer.  The  principal  epic  on  the  expedition  of  the  seven 
heroes  against  Thebes  was  entitled  Thebais,  its  author  being 
unknown.  We  shall  relate  both  these  great  events  in  the 
connection  in  which  they  have  come  down  to  us. 


THE  WARS  OF  THEBES  AND  TROY. 


317 


THE  SEVEN  HEROES  WHO  WENT  AGAINST 

THEBES. 

Their  Descendants,  the  Epiconi. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  series  of  grim  events  by 
which  Oedipus,  after  killing  his  father,  Laius,  came  to  the 
throne  of  Thebes,  and  married  his  own  mother,  Jocasta. 
It  will  be  rememberd  that  from  this  union  sprang  four  chil¬ 
dren,  two  of  them  being  sons,  Bteocles  and  Polynices,  and 
two  daughters,  Antigone  and  Ismene ;  and  that,  when  the 
criminality  of  the  marriage  came  to  light,  Jocasta  killed  her¬ 
self,  while  Oedipus,  after  putting  out  his  eyes,  went  into  vol¬ 
untary  exile,  accompanied  only  by  his  high-souled  daughter 
Antigone,  who  resolved  to  share  all  his  adversity. 

The  sons,  remaining  in  Thebes,  soon  fell  into  a  warm  dis¬ 
pute  concerning  the  succession  to  the  throne,  but  at  last 
agreed  to  reign  year  about,  Eteocles,  the  elder  of  the  two, 
having  the  first  period  of  office.  His  year,  however,  having 
expired,  he  not  only  declined  to  retire  in  behalf  of  his 
brother,  but  went  so  far  as  to  expel  him  from  the  city. 

Polynices,  brooding  revenge,  betook  himself  to  Adras- 
tus,  king  of  Sicyon,  and  was  there  hospitably  received,  meet¬ 
ing  also  under  the  same  roof  another  pretender  to  a  throne, 
Tydeus  of  Argos.  The  two  youths  became  friends,  and 
bound  themselves  to  stand  by  each  other  in  the  recovery  of 
their  sovereignty.  Adrastus  gave  them  his  two  daughters 
in  marriage,  and  having  thus  allied  himself  to  their  cause, 
prepared  a  powerful  army  to  reinstate,  first,  Polynices  in 
Thebes,  and  next,  Tydeus  in  Argos. 

Meantime  both  the  young  men  visited  many  parts  of 
Greece,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  companions  in  arms,  and 
many  a  stout  hero  answered  to  their  summons — such,  for 
example,  as  Capaneus,  a  son  of  Hipponous,  of^  Argos, 
Eteoclus,  son  of  Iphis,  and  Parthenopaeus,  a  son  of  Ata- 
lanta  and  Melanion  (or  of  Ares),  from  Arcadia.  These 


318 


THE  YOUNGER  RACE  OF  HEROES. 


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three^  together  with  Polynicee^  Tydeus,  and  Adrastus,  and 
lastly  the  princely  seer  Amphiaraus,  the  son  of  Oicles  (or 
of  Apollo),  constituted  the  so-called  seven  heroes  against 
Thebes.  It  was,  however,  with  extreme  reluctance  that 
Amphiaraus  took  part  in  the  expedition;  for  he  was  a  man 
of  profound  piety,  and  a  prophet,  who  knew  that  the  other 
leaders  of  the  affair  had  all  more  or  less  been  guilty  of  crim¬ 
inal  acts.  He  foresaw  that  the  undertaking,  altogether  god¬ 
less  as  it  was — since  Polynices,  though  he  had  suffered 
injustice,  had  no  right  to  invade  his  native  town  with  a 
foreign  army — would  have  a  disastrous  issue  for  all  of  them. 
His  warnings,  however,  were  unheeded,  and  he  himself,  since 
much  was  thought  to  depend  on  his  presence,  was  forced  to 
take  part  in  the  adventure  through  the  following  plot : 

Amphiaraus  and  Adrastus,  finding  themselves  greatly  at 
variauce  in  opinion  concerning  the  projected  expedition,  at 
last  agreed  to  intrust  the  decision  of  the  matter  to  Eriphyle 
(the  wife  of  Amphiaraus,  who  was  prevailed  on  by  the  costly 
presents  given  her  secretly  by  Polynices  to  decide  against 
her  husband,  though  she  had  been  informed  by  him  that 
Adrastus  alone,  of  all  the  seven,  would  ever  return  from 
the  expedition.  On  stepping  into  his  chariot  to  depart  for 
battle,  Amphiaraus  turned  round,  and  called  down  upon  his 
wife  a  curse,  which  his  son,  Alcmaeon,  afterward  fulfilled 
by  slaying  his  mother  to  avenge  his  father^  s  death. 

The  army  was  now  ready  to  march  under  its  seven  leaders. 
We  must,  however,  before  tracing  its  further  adventures, 
return  for  a  moment  to  Oedipus.  After  wandering  about 
sad  and  miserable  here  and  there  in  Greece,  he  at  last,  under 
the  guidance  of  his  faithful  daughter,  Antig-one,  arrived  in 
Attica,  where,  it  had  been  predicted,  he  was  to  find  a  peace¬ 
ful  end  to  all  his  woes.  *  ;  K^either  of  the  sons  ^  had  troubled 
himself  about  the  ill-fated ;  old  man,  until  an  oracle  announced 
that  victory  in  the  approaching  battle  would  be  on  the  side 
of  him  who  brought  back  Oedipus  to  Thebes  and  had  him 
in  his  camp. — Thereupon  both  soughj:  him,  Polynices  going 


319 


in  persofn  to  b'eg  for.  his  blessing  on  the  assault  upon  their 
native  town.  >  Oedipus  cursed  the  unholy  enterprise.  Eteo- 


Oedipus  and  Antigone. 


cles,  as  the  reigning  :  king,  despatched  his  uncle,  Creon,  a 
brother  of  his  mother,  to  i  Attica,  with  conimands  to  bring 


320 


THE  YOUNGER  RACE  OF  HEROER. 


back  Oedipus  by  force  if  necessary.  But  when  Creon 
attempted  to  do  so,  Theseus  interfered  and  expelled  him 
and  his  followers  from  the  land.  Oedipus,  after  calling 
down  upon  his  undutiful  sons  a  curse,  that  they  might  perish 
each  by  the  hand  of  the  other,  died  in  the  sacred  grove  of 
the  Eumenides  at  Colonus,  near  Athens,  and  was  buried  by 
Theseus  with  pomp  and  ceremony.  Antigone  returned  in 
great  grief  to  Thebes. 

About  the  same  time  the  expedition  of  the  seven  set  out. 
On  reaching  Nemea  they  found  all  the  springs  dry — a  judg¬ 
ment  sent  upon  them  by  Dionysus,  it  was  said,  the  guardian 
deity  of  Thebes.  Suffering  severely  from  thirst,  and  looking 
about  for  water,  the  heroes  encountered  Hypsipyle  (see  Argo¬ 
nauts),  who,  because  of  Jason^s  love  for  her,  had  been  sent 
by  the  other  women  of  Lemnos  to  Nemea,  and  there  sold  into 
slavery  to  the  king,  Lycurgus,  her  duty  being  to  tend  his 
young  child,  Opheltes.  They  begged  her  to  take  them  to  a 
well,  which  she  did;  but  before  going  off  with  them,  had, 
contrary  to  the  oracle,  laid  down  the  child  on  the  ground  in 
the  wood.  Returning  from  the  well,  they  found  the  child 
dead  within  the  coils  of  a  snake.  Tydeus  and  Capaneus 
would  have  slain  the  reptile  at  once,  had  not  Amphiaraus 
announced  it  to  be  a  miraculous  creature  sent  by  Zeus  as  an 
evil  omen.  On  this  account  he  renamed  the  child  Arche- 
morus,  which  means  the  dawn  of  mystery/^  The  heroes 
appeased  the  angry  parents  by  performing  splendid  obse¬ 
quies  to  the  child,  the  athletic  contests  and  ceremonies  of 
that  occasion  being  afterward  looked  on  as  the  first  celebra¬ 
tion  of  the  Nemean  games.  Hypsipyle  was  taken  back  to 
her  home  by  her  son,  Euneus,  who  had  gone  in  search  of 
her. 

In  spite  of  this  evil  omen,  the  army  of  the  seven  advanced 
upon  Thebes,  and  after  several  less  important  adventures 
arrived  before  its  walls.  There  they  pitched  a  camp,  and  as 
a  preliminary  attempt  to  settle  the  matter  amicably,  sent 
Tydeus  into  Thebes  with  orders  to  require  that  the  govern- 


THE  SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES. 


321 


ment  be  ceded  to  Polynices  according  to  the  original  terms 
of  agreement  between  the  brothers. 

Tydeus  was,  however,  received  with  hostility,  and  would 
have  perished  in  the  ambush  laid  for  him  by  Eteocles,  con- 


Death  of  Archemorus. 


trary  to  the  universal  usages  of  war,  had  it  not  been  for  his 
extraordinary  strength.  Of  the  fifty  men  who  surrounded 


322 


THE  YOUNGER  RACE  OF''HEROES. 


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him  he  spared  only  one  to  take  back  to  Eteocles  the  tidings  i 
of  the  affair. 

The  dispute  must  now  be  decided  by  force  of  arms.  ; 
Thebes  was  closely  surrounded,  each  of  the  seven  heroes  i: 
taking  up  his  position  before  one  of  its  seven  gates.  In  a  , 
similar  manner  Eteocles  distributed  his  forces  under  seven  i 
generals  within  each  of  the  gates,  reserving  for  himself  the 
defence  of  the  gate  which  his  brother  was  to  attack.  When  p 
the  battle  commenced  deeds  of  extraordinary  valor  were  [ 
done  on  both  sides;  but  the  gods  were  against  the  assailants,  j; 
the  Thebans  having  gained  the  divine  good-will  in  a  special  [ 
degree  by  the  sacrifice  which  Creon’s  son,  Menoeceus,  vol-  | 
untarily  made  of  himself  with  a  view  to  save  his  native  I 
town,  as  the  oracle  announced  by  the  seer  Tiresias  recom-  ji 
mended.  When  the  last  and  fatal  day  of  the  siege  arrived,  ^ 
Amphiarans  warned  his  companions  in  arms  of  what  awaited  |j 
them  and  the  death  of  all  their  leaders  except  Adrastus.  | 
Intrusting  to  him  tokens  of  remembrance  for  their  friends,  | 
they  rushed  into  battle  with  all  the  courage  of  despair.  :i 

Matters  soon  began  to  look  grave  outside  the  walls  of  i 

Thebes.  The  fierce  Capaneus,  who  had  boasted  that  he  ^ 

would  take  the  town  in  spite  of  Zeus  and  all  the  divine  por-  i 
tents,  had  reached  the  parapet  of  the  walls  on  his  storming 
ladder,  when  a  lightning  bolt  from  Zens  struck  and  hurled 
him  to  the  ground.  A  general  onset  of  the  Thebans  fol¬ 
lowed  this  event,  the  Argive  army  falling  before  them 

everywhere,  and  their  leaders  being  slain.  Eteocles  and 
Polynices  pierced  each  other  through  the  body  in  a  hand- 
to-hand  encounter.  The  earth,  struck  by  a  lightning  bolt  on 
the  spot  where  Amphiaraus  stood,  yawned  and  swallowed  !| 
him,  from  which  time  forward  he  continued  to  exist  as  a  ^ 
spirit  endowed  with  the  gift  of  prophecy.  Adrastus  alone  '  li 
escaped,  and  that  by  means  of  the  winged  horse  Arion. 

Creon,  the  uncle  of  the  fallen  sons  of  Oedipus,  succeeded 
to  the  throne  of  Thebes,  and,  as  his  first  duty,  buried  Eteo-  ^ 
cles  with  great  ceremony — a  rite  which  he  at  the  same  time 


THE  SEVEN  AGAINST  THEBES. 


323 


denied  to  the  body  of  Polynices,  ou  pain  of  death  to  any  one 
who  should  perform  it.  The  kindly  heart  of  Antigone  could 
not  bear  this  sentence,  which  caused  her  brother’s  soul  to 
wander  forever  without  rest  in  the  lower  world,  and  accord¬ 
ingly  she  defied  Creon’s  strict  order,  and  buried  the  corpse 
secretly,  as  she  thought,  but  his  watchman  having  observed 
the  act  she  was  condemned  to  be  buried  alive — the  fact  of 
her  being  betrothed  to  his  son,  Haemon,  and  the  tears  and 
entreaties  of  the  latter  being  of  no  avail  to  mitigate  her 
doom.  Antigone  was  pent  up  in  a  subterranean  chamber, 
in  which,  to  avoid  the  pangs  of  starvation,  she  hanged  her¬ 
self.  Haemon,  unwilling  to  outlive  her,  put  an  end  to  his 
existence,  and  Creon’s  inhuman  cruelty  was  punished  by  the 
desolation  of  his  house,  by  which  the  family  of  Oedipus 
became  extinct. 

Thirty  years  having  elapsed  since  the  expedition  of  the 
seven,  their  sons  undertook  to  avenge  the  death  of  their 
fathers  by  a  second  attack  on  Thebes.  This  was  the  so-called 
war  of  the  Bpigoni  (that  is,  offspring”  or  sons),  which 
was  entered  upon  with  the  consent  of  the  gods,  and  ended 
in  the  destruction  of  Thebes,  which  for  a  long  time  remained 
a  mere  open  space  called  Lower  Thebes.” 

Murray — 24 


-4 


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THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


The  Cause  of  the  War. 

Contemporary  with  the  contest  of  Thebes  by  the  Epiconi, 
wliich  has  been  related  above,  we  find  on  the  throne  of  Trov, 
or  Ilion,  a  king  named  Priamus,  whose  chief  distinction 
consisted  in  his  being  the  father  of  a  noble  race  of  sons. 
His  wife  was  Hecuba.  When  the  time  approached  for 
another  son  to  be  born  to  them,  their  daughter  Cassandra, 
OP  whom  Apollo  had  bestowed  the  gift  of  prophecy,  an¬ 
nounced  that  the  child  would  grow  up  to  be  the  rnin  of  his 
country.  To  prevent  such  a  calamity  the  infant  was  at  its 
birth  exposed  on  Mount  Ida,  where  it  was  found  and  brought 
up  by  shepherds,  in  whose  society  and  occupation  Paris,  or 
Alexander,  spent  the  early  part  of  his  life. 

On  a  beautiful  day,  as  he  tended  his  flocks,  three  goddesses 
(  324} 


THE  CA  USE  OF  THE  WAR. 


325 


came  to  him — Hera  (Juno),  Athene  (Minerva),  and  Aphro¬ 
dite  (Venus),  commanding  him  to  decide  which  of  them  was 
the  most  beautiful.  Here  we  must  explain.  When  Zeus 
withdrew,  as  we  have  already  seen,  from  his  proposed  mar¬ 
riage  with  Thetis,  on  account  of  a  prophecy  communicated 
by  Themis,  that  the  issue  of  such  a  union  would  be  a  son 
who  would  surpass  his  father  in  might,  it  was  agreed  to  give 
the  sea-goddess  in  marriage  to  Peleus,  a  young  prince  of 
Phthia,  in  Thessaly,  whose  piety  had  endeared  him  to  the 


Venus  “  the  most  beautittil.” 

gods.  The  gods  came  to  their  marriage  feast,’’  as  they 
did  to  that  of  Cadmus  and  Harmonia,  all  but  Bris,  the  god¬ 
dess  of  strife.  Angry  at  not  being  invited,  she  determined 
to  mar  the  pleasantness  of  the  company,  and  to  this  end 
threw  among  them  a  golden  apple,  on  which  was  written. 
To  the  most  beautiful.”  Hereupon  the  three  goddesses 
mentioned  above  claimed  each  th^  prize,  and  Zeus  referred 
them  to  Paris,  the  shepherd  on  Mount  Ida,  for  a  decision. 


326 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


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Unwilling  at  first  to  take  upon  himself  so  much  responsi¬ 
bility,  Paris  was  at  length  persuaded  to  decide,  on  being 
promised  the  throne  of  Asia  by  Hera,  immortal  fame  as  a 
hero  by  Athene,  and  the  loveliest  wife  on  earth  by  Aphro¬ 
dite.  He  assigned  the  prize  to  the  last-mentioned  goddess, 
and  in  so  doing  drew  upon  himself  and  his  native  country 
the  most  bitter  enmity  of  the  other  two. 

In  the  meantime  it  happened  that  a  sacrifice  was  to  be 
offered  in  Troy,  for  which  oxen  were  wanted.  Two  of  the 
king’s  sons.  Hector  and  Ilelenus,  were  sent  to  the  herd  on 
Mount  Ida,  to  select  fitting  animals.  Their  choice  included 
one  that  was  a  favorite  of  Paris,  who  boldly  refused  to  give  it 
up,  and  followed  it  to  the  town,  intending  to  demand  its  resto¬ 
ration  from  the  king.  But  a  quarrel  ensued  on  the  way,  and 
Paris  would  have  fallen  at  his  brothers’  hands,  but  for  the 
timely  appearance  of  Cassandra,  who  revealed  the  story  of 
his  birth.  Then  there  was  joy  in  the  king’s  palace  at  the 
return  of  the  lost  son,  grown  up  as  he  was,  to  be  beautiful, 
handsome,  and  brave.  The  untoward  prophecy  was  forgotten. 

The  sudden  change  from  the  life  of  a  herdsman  to  that  of 
a  prince  surrounded  by  the  pleasures  of  court  and  town, 
made  Paris  oblivious  of  the  visit  of  the  goddesses  and  the 
promise  that  had  been  made  to  him  of  the  most  beautiful 
wife  on  earth.  But  Aphrodite  meant  to  fulfil  the  promise, 
and  to  this  end  commanded  him  to  have  ships  built  to  sail 
to  Hellas,  and  proceed  to  Sparta,  where,  in  the  person  of 
Helena,  he  would  find  the  wife  in  question.  Paris  obeyed, 
and  was  accompanied  on  the  journey  by  Aeneas,  a  son  of 
Anchises  and  the  goddess  Aphrodite. 

Arriving  at  Amyclae,  he  was  met  and  kindly  welcomed  by 
the  Dioscuri,  Castor  and  Polydeuces  (Pollux),  the  brothers 
of  Helena.  To  the  same  family  (of  which  Zeus  and  Leda 
were  the  parents)  belonged  Clytaemnestra,  the  wife  of 
Ag’amemnon,  who,  like  her  brother  Castor,  was  mortal, 
while  the  other  two,  Helena  and  Pollux,  were  immortal. 
Of  the  close  attachrnent  of  the  two  brothers  to  each  other 


E  a  A  USE  OF  THE  WAE. 


327 


there  is  a  fine  instance  which  we  shall  here  relate,  though  in 
point  of  time  it  did  not  take  place  till  a  little  later.  Being 
present,  according  to  invitation,  at  the  nuptials  of  Lynceus 
and  Idas  with  Phoebe  and  Hilaeira,  the  daughters  of  Leu¬ 
cippus,  they  became  enamoured  of  the  brides,  and  attempted 


Paris  and  Helena, 

to  carry  them  ofP.  A  fight  ensued,  in  which  Castor,  after 
slaying  Lynceus,  fell  into  the  hands  of  Idas,  whom  Pollux 
next  slew  to  avenge  his  brother’s  death.  Pollux  then  prayed 
to  Zeus  that  he  might  restore  his  brother  to  life,  proposing 
as  a  compensation  that  both  should  live  only  on  alternate 
days.  Zeus  granted  the  prayer  with  its  condition.  In  after 
times  the  twin-brothers  were  regarded  as  divine  beings,  and 


328 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


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viinin 


supposed  to  ride  on  white  horses  in  the  sky,  with  dazzling  | 
spears,  and  each  with  a  star  above  his  brow.  In  storms, 
when  a  mariner  saw  a  ball  of  fire  in  the  air,  he  was  assured  | 
that  the  Dioscuri  were  near  to  help  him.  j' 

After  spending  some  time  with  the  Dioscuri,  Paris,  accom-  i 
panied  by  Aeneas,  set  out  for  Sparta,  where  he  was  received  |i 
by  the  king,  Menelaus,  and  his  wife,  Helena,  in  the  same  p 
spirit  of  kindly  hospitality  as  the  brothers  of  the  latter  had  j 
displayed  at  Amyclae.  Of  Menelaus  we  have  already  men-  j 
tinned  his  descent  from  Atreus.  The  story  of  his  marriage  m 
and  its  consequences  is  as  follows  :  f 

Such,  it  would  seem,  had  been  the  astonishing  beauty  and  | 
grace  of  Helena,  that  even  as  a  young  girl  she  had  captivated  i 
the  hearts  of  men,  and,  among  others,  of  Theseus,  who  car¬ 
ried  her  off.  The  Dioscuri,  however,  soon  found  and  brought  r 
her  back,  taking  with  them  as  a  prisoner,  Aethra,  the  mother 
of  Theseus,  and  presenting  her  as  a  servant  to  Helena.  As  j 
Helena  grew  to  womanhood,  so  numerous  and  so  pressing  | 
were  the  noble  suitors  for  her  hand  that  Tyndareus,  her 
foster-father,  became  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  provoking  u 
the  hostility  of  so  many  by  choosing  one  of  them  for  her. 
He  determined,  therefore,  to  allow  her  to  choose  for  herself. 
But  first  he  called  upon  them  all  to  take  an  oath,  not  only 
that  they  would  be  satisfied  with  her  choice,  but  would  sGjist 
her  husband  then  and  after  in  whatever  danger  or  difficulty 
he  might  be  placed.  She  chose  Menelaus,  the  brother  of 
Agamemnon,  her  sister’s  husband,  and  the  marriage  was 
celebrated  with  great  pomp.  Tyndareus,  however,  had 
omitted  to  offer  a  sacrifice  to  Aphrodite,  who,  to  punish  him, 
made  the  heart  of  his  foster-daughter  readily  accessible  to 
unbridled  love. 

Paris,  as  has  been  said,  was  kindly  received  by  Menelaus, 
and  freely  admitted  to  his  hospitality  and  the  society  of  his 
wife,  Helena,  with  whom  he  soon  formed  an  attachment  5 
which  deepened  with  time  and  under  the  influence  of  the 
costly  presents  of  Asiatic  wares  which  he  gave  her.  Mene-  [. 


! 


THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  WAR. 


329 


laus,  meanwhile  suspecting  nothing,  prepared  to  pay  a  visit 
to  Idomeneus  of  Crete,  leaving  his  wife  under  the  care  of 
his  guest.  With  her  husband  safely  at  a  distance,  Helena 
was  readily  persuaded  to  elope  with  Paris  to  Troy,  to  become 
his  wife,  and  there  live  in  oriental  luxury  and  splendor. 
Reaching  the  coast 
under  the  cover  of 
night  they  embarked, 
and  after  weathering 
a  storm  sent  by  Hera, 
the  goddess  of  mar¬ 
riage  troth,  reached 
Troy  in  safety,  and 
were  married  with 
great  pomp  and  mag- 

.  The  Dioscuri  (Castor  and  Pollux). 

miicence. 

To  Menelaus,  at  the  court  of  Idomeneus  in  Crete,  Iris, 
the  divine  messenger,  carried  the  intelligence  of  the  disgrace 
that  had  fallen  on  his  house.  Returning  at  once,  and  having 
consulted  his  powerful  brother  Agamemnon,  he  proceeded 
to  Pylos,  to  seek  the  advice  of  the  aged  Nestor,  whose  repu¬ 
tation  for  prudence  and  wisdom  throughout  Greece  had  been 
acquired  by  his  services  in  many  wars  in  the  course  of  the 
two  preceding  generations,  such  was  his  great  age.  His 
counsel  on  this  occasion  was  that  nothing  short  of  a  combi¬ 
nation  of  all  the  armies  of  Greece  would  be  sufficient  to 
punish  the  crime  that  had  been  committed  and  recover  the 
possession  of  Helena. 

Acting  bn  this  advice,  Menelaus  and  Agamemnon  visited 
all  the  princes  and  heroes  of  the  land,  to  obtain  pledges  of 
their  assistance.  Those  who  had  been  suitors  of  Helena  had 
been  bound  by  an  oath  to  assist  Menelaus  whenever  called 
upon  by  him  to  do  so,  and  were  now  ready  to  carry  out  their 
engagement.  Others  promptly  offered  their  services,  from 
feelings  of  resentment  at  the  vileness  of  the  act  of  Paris. 
Only  in  two  cases  was  any  difficulty  experienced,  but  they 


330 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


were  very  important  cases,  as  it  proved.  The  first  was  that 
of  Odysseus  (Ulysses),  son  of  Laertes,  the  king  of  the  island 
of  Ithaca.  His  beautiful  and  faithful  wife,  Penelope,  had 
borne  him  a  son,  Telemachus,  and  being  in  the  enjoyment 
of  perfect  domestic  felicity,  he  was  unwilling  to  exchange  it 
for  a  part  in  a  war  the  issue  of  which  appeared  very  dubious. 
But  instead  of  returning  a  blunt  answer,  he  pretended  insan¬ 
ity,  put  on  a  fisherman’s  hat,  yoked  a  horse  and  an  ox 
together,  and  commenced  to  plough.  But  Palamedes,  detect¬ 
ing  the  sham,  set  the  infant  Telemachus  on  the  ground  in 
front  of  the  plough.  In  saving  the  child  Odysseus  revealed 
the  sobriety  of  his  senses,  and  was  compelled  to  join  the 
expedition.  The  other  case  was  that  of  Achilles,  the  son  of 
Peleus  and  Thetis,  a  nymph  of  the  sea. 


Thetis,  having  been  offered  by  the  gods  the  choice,  in  behalf 
of  her  son,  of  either  a  long  life  spent  in  obscurity  and  retire¬ 
ment,  or  a  few  years  of  dazzling  martial  fame,  chose  the  life 
of  obscurity,  and  with  that  view  conveyed  him,  dressed  as 
a  girl,  to  the  court  of  Lycomedes,  in  the  island  of  Scyros. 


THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  WAB. 


381 


There  he  was  brought  up  among  the  king’s  daughters,  and 
gained  the  love  of  one  of  them,  Deidamia,  who  bore  him  a 
son,  Neoptolemus,  who  afterward  took  part  in  the  war  against 
Troy.  Meantime  it  was  known  to  be  of  the  highest  impor¬ 
tance  for  the  Trojan  expedition  to  discover  the  concealment 
of  the  young  son  of  Thetis  and  to  enlist  his  services.  For 


that  purpose  Odysseus  was  sent  in  the  dress  and  character  of 
a  trader  to  Scyros.  On  the  pretext  of  offering  his  trinkets 
and  wares  for  sale  to  the  king’s  daughters,  he  obtained  admit¬ 
tance  to  the  palace,  and  discovered  Achilles,  disguised  as  he 
was.  Odysseus  ordered  a  magnificent  suit  of  armor  to  be 
displayed  before  the  youth  and  a  call  to  arms  to  be  sounded 


332 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


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on  a  military  horn.  The  scheme  was  successful — an  impulse 
to  achieve  military  glory  seized  upon  Achilles,  who  forthwith 
offered  his  services  to  the  projected  expedition.  Peleus  sent 
Patroclus,  the  son  of  Menoetius,  to  be  a  companion  for  his 
son. 

The  harbor  of  Aulis  was  where  the  various  contingents  of 
ships  and  soldiery  were  appointed  to  assemble;  and  when  all 
had  arrived — more  than  1000  ships,  each  with  at  least  150 
men — it  was  a  sight  such  as  had  never  been  seen  in  Greece 
before.  Agamemnon,  the  most  powerful  prince  in  Greece, 
was  elected  to  the  position  of  commander  of  the  expedition. 

While  the  fleet  lay  in  Aulis  a  serpent  was  observed  coiling 
itself  round  a  plane-tree,  on  which  was  a  sparrow’s  nest  with 
nine  young  birds.  The  serpent  devoured  the  young  ones, 
but  on  turning  to  the  mother-bird  was  instantly  changed  into 
stone.  Calchas,  the  high  priest,  was  summoned  to  divine 
what  the  strange  occurrence  might  betoken.  He  replied  : 

Nine  years  we  must  fight  round  Ilion,  and  on  the  tenth 
take  the  town.’’  Thereafter  the  fleet  sailed,  crossed  the 
Aegean,  and  landed  by  mistake  in  Mysia,  which  the  Greeks 
prepared  to  lay  waste.  They  were,  however,  stoutly  opposed 
by  the  king  of  the  country,  Telephus,  a  sou  of  Hercules.  In 
the  contest  Patroclus  proved  his  bravery,  fighting  side  by 
side  with  Achilles.  He  received  a  wound,  which  Achilles — 
thanks  to  his  early  training  under  the  Centaur  Chiron,  and 
the  knowledge  of  medicine  then  obtained — was  able  to  cure. 
Telephus  also  had  received  a  wound  from  a  spear  of  Achilles 
in  the  engagement,  and,  finding  that  it  would  not  heal,  con¬ 
sulted  an  oracle  regarding  it.  The  reply  of  the  oracle  was 
that  it  could  be  healed  only  by  him  who  had  caused  it. 
Meantime  another  oracle  was  communicated  to  the  Greeks, 
to  the  intent  that  Telephus  should  lead  them  to  Troy.  How 
this  came  about  we  shall  see  presently. 

The  Greek  fleet  had  returned  again  to  the  harbor  of  Aulis. 
While  lying  there,  Agamemnon  had  chanced  to  see  a  beauti¬ 
ful  stag,  sacred  to  Artemis.  His  passion  for  the  chase  led 


THE  CAVSE  OF  THE  WAR. 


333 


him  to  draw  upon  the  stag  and  kill  it,  while  in  the  pride  of 
his  success  he  dared  to  boast  that  he  could  excel  the  goddess 
of  the  chase  herself.  This  was  the  cause  of  a  series  of  mis¬ 
fortunes  that  then  befell  him.  The  injured  goddess  first  sent 
a  calm  which  detained  the  fleet  week  after  week.  In  spite 
of  Palamedes^  invention  of  the  game  of  draughts  and  other 
means  of  amusement,  the  prolonged  inactivity  began  to  tell 
upon  the  force  and  to  create  serious  discontent.  At  last 


Calchas,  being  ordered  to  discover  what  the  gods  desired, 
explained  that  Artemis  required,  on  the  part  of  Agamemnon, 
the  sacrifice  of  his  daughter  Iphigenia.  His  fatherly  feel¬ 
ings  had  to  yield  to  his  sense  of  duty  as  commander  of  the 
expedition.  He  sent  a  message  to  his  wife  Clytaemnestra, 
to  come  to  Aulis,  bringing  Iphigenia  with  her — to  be  mar¬ 
ried,  he  said,  to  Achilles.  They  came;  but  it  was  as  a  victim, 
not  as  a  bride,  that  Agamemnon  led  his  daughter  to  the  altar 
of  Artemis.  The  goddess,  satisfied  with  his  intentions,  sud¬ 
denly  appeared  on  the  scene,  provided  a  goat  for  the  sacrifice, 


^34 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


carried  off  Iphigenia  in  a  cloud  to  Taurus,  and  appointed 
her  to  the  care  of  her  temple  there.  Clytaemnestra  could 
not  forgive  her  husband  for  the  deception  he  had  practised. 
How  she  avenged  herself  shall  be  afterward  related. 

In  consequence  of  the  oracle  concerning  the  wound  which 
he  had  received  from  the  spear  of  Achilles,  Telephns  pro- 


•  iiif 

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ceeded  to  Aulis,  where  the  Greek  fleet  lay,  and  presented 
himself  in  disguise  to  Agamemnon,  seized  his  infant  son, 
Orestes,  whom  Clytaemnestra  had  brought  with  her,  and 
threatened  to  slay  the  child,  if  healing  were  refused  him. 
Odysseus  interposed,  and  scraping  some  of  the  rust  from  the 
spear  of  Achilles,  applied  it  to  the  wound,  and  healed  it. 
Thereupon  Telephns  offered  his  services  in  leading  the  expe¬ 
dition  to  Troy,  and,  the  oracle  being  thus  fulfllled,  the  Greeks 


THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  WAR 


W6b 

set  sail  a  second  time  for  Troy,  landing  on  their  way  at  Lem-* 


Iphigenia. 


nos,  to  sacrifice  at  an  altar  raised  there  by  Hercules;  Philoc- 


336 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


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tfites,  who  had  inherited  the  bow  and  arrows  of  Hercules, 
Was  bitten  in  the  foot  by  a  snake,  and  suffered  agony  that 
made  him  scream  continually.  Unable  to  heal  the  wound, 
and  unwilling  to  endure  his  screams,  the  Greeks  left  him 
behind,  and  proceeded  on  their  journey,  reaching  at  last  the 
Trojan  shore. 

The  First  Years  of  the  War. 

The  Trojans,  having  received  intelligence  of  the  hostile 
preparations  of  the  Greeks,  prepared  on  their  part  also  to 
meet  the  enemy,  assembling  in  and  around  the  city  of  Troy 
all  the  forces  they  could  obtain  from  neighbors  and  allies. 
Their  foremost  hero,  whom  they  chose  to  lead  them  in 
assaults,  was  Hector,  the  eldest  son  of  the  king.  The  first 
engagement  of  the  two  forces  occurred  while  the  Greeks  were 
in  the  act  of  landing  from  their  ships,  the  result  of  it  being 
that  the  Trojans  were  driven  back  within  their  walls,  but 
not  without  inflicting  considerable  loss  on  their  enemy.  The 
first  attempt  of  the  Greeks  to  take  the  town  by  storm  entirely 
failed,  and,  finding  that  the  Trojans  would  not  surrender 
Helena  to  her  husband,  the  Greek  commander  could  see  no 
other  means  of  compelling  them  to  do  so  than  by  a  siege. 
Accordingly  a  well-fortified  camp  was  constructed  around 
the  ships,  which  had  been  hauled  up  on  the  shore,  and,  with 
that  camp  to  fall  back  upon,  the  Greek  army  proceeded  to 
lay  waste  the  territory  and  towns  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
Trojan  forces,  acknowledging  the  superiority  of  the  besiegers, 
did  not  seek  a  battle,  and  excepting  such  incidents  as  when 
Achilles  and  Hector  fought  in  single  combat,  or  when  Tro- 
ilus,  the  youngest  son  of  Priam,  was  captured  and  put  to 
death  by  Achilles,  nothing  of  moment  transpired. 

In  the  course  of  the  raids  made  by  the  Greeks  in  the 
neighborhood,  it  happened  that,  having  taken  the  town  of 
Pedasus,  and  come  to  divide  the  spoils,  Agamemnon  obtained 
as  his  captive  Chryseis,  a  daughter  of  Chryses,'the  priest 
of  Apollo  in  the  island  of  Chryse,  while  to  the  lot  of  Achilles 


THE  FIRST  YEARS  OF  THE  WAR. 


337 


fell  Briseis,  a  maiden  as  beautiful  as  the  priest’s  daughter. 
Chryses  entreated  Agamemnon  to  restore  him  his  daughter, 
offering  a  heavy  ransom  for  her,  but  was  met  with  refusal 
and  contumely.  Having  one  other  resource — an  appeal  to 


Ajax  Bearing  the  Body  of  Patroclus. 


the  god  in  whose  service  he  was — Chryses  implored  the  aid 
of  Apollo,  who,  being  for  other  reasons  also  hostile  to  the 
Greeks,  visited  them  with  a  plague  which  carried  them  off 


338 


THE  TEOJAN  WAE. 


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in  great  numbers.  Agamemnon  called  a  muster  of  the  army, 
and  inquired  of  the  high-priest,  Calchas,  by  what  the  angry 
god  could  be  appeased.  Calchas,  being  assured  of  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  Achilles,  boldly  declared  that  the  wrath  of  Apollo 
had  been  caused  by  the  unjust  detention  of  Chryseis,  a 
daughter  of  one  of  his  priests.  Upon  this,  Agamemnon, 
who  had  borne  a  grudge  against  Calchas  ever  since  the  sac¬ 
rifice  of  Iphigenia,  rated  the  priest  in  reproachful  terms, 
charging  him  also  in  the  present  instance  with  being  in 
league  with  Achilles — a  charge  which  the  latter  would  have 
resented  with  force  had  not  the  goddess  Athene  interposed. 
Agamemnon  felt  his  dignity  as  king  and  commander  of  the 
army  insulted  by  the  threat  of  Achilles,  and  demanded  as 
satisfaction  for  this  the  person  of  the  beautiful  Briseis,  appa¬ 
rently  to  take  the  place  of  Chryseis,  whom  he  had  been  com¬ 
pelled  to  give  up.  Achilles,  having  been  warned  by  Athene 
to  be  calm,  confessed  his  inability  to  resist  the  demand,  and 
from  that  time  withdrew  with  all  his  men  from  the  camp. 

Thetis,  having  besought  Zeus  to  take  measures  to  compel 
Agamemnon  to  atone  for  this  insult  to  her  son,  obtained  a 
divine  decree  setting  forth  that  so  long  as  Achilles  held  aloof 
the  Greeks  would  be  defeated  in  every  engagement  with  the 
Trojans.  Emboldened  by  the  intelligence  of  the  step  taken 
by  Achilles,  the  Trojans  sallied  from  their  walls,  and  after 
numerous  battles,  skirmishes,  and  personal  encounters,  always 
attended  with  serious  loss  to  the  enemy,  drove  the  Greeks 
back  to  the  shelter  of  their  fortified  camp  beside  the  ships. 
At  last,  abased  and  humiliated  by  disasters,  Agamemnon 
sent  an  embas.sy  to  Achilles,  offering  to  restore  Briseis,  and 
in  addition  to  bestow  on  him  his  daughter’s  hand,  with  seven 
towns  for  a  dowry.  But  the  wrath  of  Achilles  would  not 
relent,  and  still  the  need  of  his  countrymen  grew  worse. 

The  end  seemed  to  be  near  when  Hector,  at  the  head  of 
the  Trojans,  had  stormed  the  wall  of  the  camp,  and  set  sev¬ 
eral  of  the  ships  on  fire.  Seeing  this  Patroclus  begged 
Achilles  to  lend  him  his  armor  and  allow  him  to  lead  the 


THE  FIRST  YEARS  OF  THE  WAR. 


339 


Myrmidons  to  the  fight.  The  request  being  granted,  Patro- 
chis  and  his  men  were  soon  in  the  heat  of  the  battle,  their 
sudden  reapperance  striking  the  Trojan  army  with  terror, 
and  causing  it  to  fall  back.  ITot  content  with  thus  deciding 
the  battle,  Patroclus,  disregarding  the  advice  of  Achilles, 
pursued  the  enemy  till  Hector,  turning  round,  engaged  him 
in  a  hand-to-hand  fight,  the  issue  of  which  was  the  death 
of  the  Greek  hero.  Hector  stripped  him  of  the  armor  of 


Parting  of  Hector  and  Andromache. 


Achilles,  which  he  wore,  but  left  the  body  for  the  Greeks 
to  take  possession  of.  The  grief  of  Achilles  at  the  loss  of 
his  friend  was  as  violent  as  had  been  his  anger  against 
Agamemnon.  He  called  for  vengeance  on  Hector,  and  with 
the  object  in  view  of  obtaining  it,  yielded  to  a  reconciliation 
which  all  the  sufferings  of  his  countrymen  could  not  pre¬ 
viously  induce  him  to  submit  to.  With  armor  more  dazzling 
and  superb  than  had  ever  been  seen  before,  forged  by  the 

Murray — 25 


340 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


god  Hephaestus,  and  brought  by  Thetis  in  the  hour  of  her 
son’s  need,  he  went  forth  to  battle,  seeking  Hector  in  the 
Trojan  ranks,  which  everywhere  hurried  back  like  sheep 
before  a  wolf.  The  Trojan  hero  stepped  forth  to  meet  his 
adversary,  but  not  without  sad  misgivings.  He  had  said 
farewell  to  his  faithful  wife,  Andromache,  and  to  his  boy,  I 
Astyanax.  But  even  the  strong  sense  of  duty  to  his  coun¬ 
try  which  had  supported  him  in  this  domestic  scene  deserted  | 
him  utterly  when  the  young  Greek  hero  approached  with  the  j 
dauntless  bearing  of  the  god  of  war  himself.  Hector  fled; 
but  Achilles,  having  a  faster  step,  cut  off  his  retreat,  and 
thus  imbued  him  with  the  courage  of  despair.  The  combat  j 
did  not  last  long,  the  victory  of  Achilles  being  easily  won.  j 
Unappeased  by  the  death  of  Hector,  Achilles  proceeded  to  j 
outrage  his  lifeless  body  by  binding  it  to  his  war-chariot. 
After  dragging  it  thus  three  times  around  the  walls  of  Troy  j 
in  the  face  of  the  people,  he  returned  with  it  to  the  Greek  ! 
camp,  and  there  cast  it  among  dust  and  dirt.  Displeased  by  j 
such  excess  of  passion,  the  gods  took  care  of  Hector’s  body,  jl 
and  saved  it  from  corruption,  while  Zeus  in  the  meantime  | 
softened  the  heart  of  Achilles,  and  prepared  him  for  the  per¬ 
formance  of  an  act  of  generosity  which  was  to  blot  out  the  j 
memory  of  his  previous  cruelty.  On  the  one  hand,  Thetis  I 
was  employed  to  persuade  her  son  to  give  up  the  body  with¬ 
out  a  ranson.  On  the  other  hand,  Hermes  was  sent  to  bid 
Priam  go  stealthily  in  the  night  to  Achilles’  tent,  and  beg 
the  body  of  his  son.  The  aged  king  of  Troy  obeyed,  and  i 
coming  to  the  young  hero’s  tent,  besought  him,  as  he  valued  I 
his  own  father,  to  give  him  leave  to  take  away  the  lifeless 
body  and  pay  to  it  the  customary  rites  of  burial.  Achilles  j 
was  touched  by  the  gentleness  of  his  beseeching,  raised  the  j' 
old  man  from  his  knees,  shared  with  him  the  hospitality  of 
his  tent,  and,  in  the  mornmg,  having  given  up  the  body,  sent  ! 
him  back  under  a  safe  escort.  In  the  pause  of  liostilities  i 
that  took  place  then,  the  Greeks  buried  the  body  of  Patro-  * 
clus  with  great  ceremony.  ,  t 


THE  DEATH  OF  ACHILLES. 


341 


The  Death  of  Achilles. 


The  loss  of  Hector  had  so  dispirited  the  Trojans  that 
without  fresh  succors  they  could  not  face  the  enemy  again. 
Such  succors,  however, 
consisting  of  an  army 
of  Amazons,  under  the 
command  of  the  beau¬ 
tiful  Penthesilea,  ar¬ 
rived  in  the  interval  of 
mourning  for  Hector  in 
the  one  camp  and  for 
Patroclus  in  the  other. 

When  hostilities  com¬ 
menced  again,  the  val¬ 
iant  Penthesilea,  being 
eager  to  measure  her 
strength  with  that  of 
Achilles,  and  to  avenge 
the  death  of  Hector,  led 
the  Trojan  army  into 
battle.  The  leaders  of 
the  Greeks  were  Achil¬ 
les  and  Ajax,  the  son  of 
Telamon.  While  the 
latter  hero  was  engaged 
in  driving  back  the  Tro¬ 
jan  ranks,  Achilles  and 
Penthesilea  met  in  sin¬ 
gle  combat.  He  would 
have  spared  her  will¬ 
ingly,  and  did  not,  till 
compelled  in  self  de¬ 
fen  r^e,  strike  with  all  his  An  Amazon, 

might.  Then  she  fell 

mortally  wounded,  and  as  she  fell,  remembering  the  fate  of 


342 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


Hector's  body,  implored  Achilles  to  spare  hers  that  disgrace. 
There  was  no  need  of  this;  for  he,  to  save  her  still,  if  possible, 
and  if  not,  to  soothe  her  last  moments,  lifted  her  in  his  arms, 
and  there  held  her  till  she  died.  The  Trojans  and  Amazons 
made  a  combined  rush  to  rescue  the  body  of  their  leader; 
but  Achilles  made  a  sign  to  them  to  halt,  and  praising  her 
valor,  youth,  and  beauty,  gave  it  to  them  freely— a  kindly 
act  which  touched  friends  and  foes  alike.  Among  the 
Greeks,  however,  there  was  one  Thersites,  mean  and  de  • 
formed  in  mind  as  well  as  body,  who  not  only  dared  to 
impute  a  scandalous  motive  to  Achilles,  but,  approaching 
the  fallen  Amazon,  struck  his  spear  into  her  lightless  eye. 
A  sudden  blow  from  Achilles  laid  him  lifeless  on  the  ground. 

All  who  saw  this  punishment  inflicted  approved  of  it, 
except  Diomedes,  the  son  of  Tydeus,  a  relation  by  blood  of 
Thersites,  who  stepped  forward  and  demanded  of  Achilles 
^  the  usual  reparation,  consisting  of  a  sum  of  money.  Feeling 

p  £  himself  deeply  wronged  because  his  countrymen,  and  espe- 

Ejg  cially  Agamemnon,  did  not  unconditionally  take  his  part  in 

the  matter,  Achilles  abandoned  for  a  second  time  the  cause 
IL'ii  Greeks,  and  took  ship  to  Lesbos.  Odysseus  was  sent 

after  him,  and  by  dint  of  smooth  words,  cleverly  directed, 
succeeded  in  bringing  him  back  to  the  camp, 

^  What  made  the  return  of  Achilles  more  urgent  at  that 
time  was  the  arrival  of  a  new  ally  to  the  Trojans,  in  the 
person  of  Memnon,  a  son  of  Eos  (Aurora)  and  Tithonus, 
who  beside  being  the  son  of  a  goddess,  as  well  as  Achilles, 
.hU  appeared  further  to  be  a  proper  match  for  him,  inasmuch  as 
he  also  carried  armor  fashioned  by  Hephaestus.  When  the 
two  heroes  met,  and  were  fighting  fiercely,  Zeus  received  in 
(iliH  Olyrnpus  a  simultaneous  visit  from  their  respective  mothers, 
Thetis  and  Eos,  both  imploring  him  to  spare  their  sons.  He 
answered  that  the  issue  must  abide  the  will  of  Fate,  Moera, 
to  discover  which  he  took  the  golden  balance  for  weighing 
out  life  and  death,  and  placing  in  one  scale  the  fate  of  Achilles 
and  in  the  other  that  of  Memnon^  saw  the  latter  sink  to 


THE  DEATH  OF  ACHILLES. 


843 


rK 


denote  his  death.  Eos  made  haste  to  the  battle-field,  but 
found  her  son  dead.  She  carried  away  his  body,  and  buried 
it  in  his  native  land,  in  the  distant  east. 


A  Fighting  Amazon. 

Achilles  did  not  long  enjoy  his  triumph;  for,  animated  hy 
success,  he  led  on  the  Greeks,  and  would  have  captured  Troy, 
however  clearly  the  Fates  might  have  decreed  the  contrary, 
had  not  Apollo  given  unerring  flight  to  an  arrow  drawn  by 
Paris.  By  that  shaft  from  an  unworthy  source,  as  far  as 
could  be  judged,  Achilles  fell.  Ajax,  the  stout  hero,  aiW 


344 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


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Odysseus,  clever  as  well  as  brave,  seized  his  body,  and  fight¬ 
ing  all  the  way,  carried  it  back  to  camp,  where  its  burial  was 
attended  with  extraordinary  pomp  and  ceremonial,  the  Muses 
chanting  dolorous  lays,  and  the  heroes  who  had  known  lim 
personally  taking  part,  as  was  the  custom  on  such  occasions, 
in  athletic  competitions.  The  armor  which  he  had  worn  in 
the  fight  was  offered  by  Thetis  to  the  most  deserving.  Only 
two  claims  were  preferred,  and  those  were  on  behalf  of  the 
two  heroes  who  had  rescued  his  body.  The  award  being  given 
in  favor  of  Odysseus,  Ajax,  from  grief  at  what  he  deemed 
neglect,  sank  into  a  state  of  insanity,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  intentionally  fell  upon  his  sword,  and  died. 

A  cessation  of  hostilities  was  obtained  on  the  death  of 
Achilles  and  Ajax,  the  two  foremost  of  the  Greek  heroes. 
This  period  of  peace  having  expired,  and  the  former  condi¬ 
tions  of  war  having  been  resumed,  the  first  event  of  impor¬ 
tance  that  occurred  was  the  capture  of  Helenus,  a  son  Priam, 
who,  like  his  sister,  Cassandra,  was  endowed  with  the  gift  of 
prophecy.  Odysseus,  who  had  made  the  capture,  compelled 
Helenus  to  disclose  the  measures  by  which  it  was  decreed 
that  the  siege  should  be  brought  to  a  determination.  The 
answer  was,  that  to  take  the  city  of  Troy,  and  thus  close  the 
siege,  three  things  were  necessary  :  1,  the  assistance  of  the 
son  of  Achilles,  Neoptolemus;  2,  the  bow  and  arrows  of 
Hercules;  3,  the  possession  of  the  Palladium  (an  image  of 
the  goddess  Pallas  Athene),  which  was  carefully  preserved 
in  the  citadel  of  Troy.  In  satisfying  the  first  condition  no 
difficulty  was  experienced.  Odysseus,  always  ready  to  be  of 
service  for  the  common  good,  proceeded  to  Scyros,  where  he 
found  Neoptolemus  grown  to  manhood,  and  thirsting  for 
martial  renown.  A  present  of  the  splendid  armor  which 
his  father,  Achilles,  had  worn  and  which  Odysseus  now 
magnanimously  parted  with,  fired  the  youth's  ambition,  and 
led  him  easily  to  Troy,  where  he  distinguished  himself  in  a 
combat  with  Eurypylus  (a  son  of  Telephus),  who  had  joined 
the  Trojan  ranks. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  TROY. 


345 


A  more  serious  matter  was  the  fulfilment  of  the  second 
condition,  seeing  that  the  bow  and  arrows  of  Hercules  were 
then  in  the  possession  of  Philoctetes,  whom,  as  we  have 
already  said,  the  Greeks  abandoned  at  Lemnus,  not  caring  to 
endure  the  screams  caused  by  the  wound  in  his  foot.  His 
feelings  were  known  to  be  rancorous  toward  the  Greeks. 
Notwithstanding  that,  Odysseus,  accompanied  by  Diomedes 
(or,  as  others  say,  by  Neoptolemus),  went  to  Lemnus,  and 
successfully  tricked  Philoctetes  into  following  him  to  Troy, 
where  his  wound  was  healed  by  Machaon,  a  son  of  Aescu¬ 
lapius,  and  a  reconciliation  was  effected  between  him  and 
Agamemnon.  The  first  on  whom  his  fatal  arrows  were  tried 
was  Paris,  after  whose  death  Helena  married  his  brother, 
Deiphobus.  The  Trojans  were  now  completely  shut  up 
within  the  town,  no  one  daring  to  face  the  arrows  of  Philoc¬ 
tetes. 

There  remained,  however,  a  third  condition — the  seizure 
of  the  Palladium.  Odysseus,  successful  in  the  other  two, 
and  undaunted  by  the  greater  difficulty  of  the  new  adven¬ 
ture,  proposed  to  steal  alone  within  the  walls  of  Troy  in  the 
disguise  of  a  beggar,  and  as  a  first  measure  to  find  out  where 
the  Palladium  was  preserved.  He  did  so,  and  remained 
unrecognized  except  by  Helena,  who,  having  felt  ever  since 
the  death  of  Paris  a  yearning  for  Menelaus,  proved  to  be  a 
valuable  ally.  Odysseus,  in  the  meantime,  returned  to  the 
Greek  camp  to  obtain  the  assistance  of  Diomedes.  The  two, 
having  made  their  way  back  to  Troy,  laid  hold  of  the  Palla¬ 
dium,  and,  carrying  it  off  in  safety,  fulfilled  the  third  and 
last  condition. 

The  next  difficulty  was  the  plan  of  assault  to  be  adopted. 
It  was  proposed  by  Odysseus,  on  the  suggestion  of  the  god¬ 
dess  Athene,  that  Epeios,  a  famous  sculptor,  should  make  a 
great  wooden  horse,  sufficiently  large  to  hold  inside  a  number 
of  the  bravest  Greeks,  and  that  the  horse  being  ready,  and 
the  heroes  concealed  within  it  beyond  detection,  the  whole 
Greek  army  should  embark  and  set  sail,  as  if  making  home- 


346 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


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ward.  The  plan  of  Odysseus  was  agreed  to,  and  great  was 
the  joy  of  the  Trojans  when  they  saw  the  fleet  set  sail.  The 
people,  scarcely  trusting  their  eyes,  flocked  to  the  abandoned 
camp,  to  make  sure.  There  they  found  nothing  remaining 
but  a  great  wooden  horse,  about  the  use  of  which  various 
opinions  arose — some  thinking  it  an  engine  of  war,  and 
demanding  its  instant  destruction.  But  the  opinion  that 
prevailed  most  was  that  it  must  have  been  an  object  of  relig¬ 
ious  veneration,  and  if  so,  ought  to  be  taken  into  the  city. 
Among  those  who  thought  otherwise  was  Laocoon,  a  priest 
of  Apollo,  who  had  arrived  on  the  scene,  accompanied  by  his 
two  young  sons,  to  offer  a  sacrifice  to  the  god  in  whose  ser¬ 
vice  he  was.  Laocoon  warned  his  countrymen  in  no  case  to 
accept  this  gift  of  the  Greeks,  and  went  so  far  as  to  thrust 
his  spear  into  the  belly  of  the  horse,  upon  which  the  weapons 
of  the  heroes  within  were  heard  to  clash,  and  the  bystanders 
were  all  but  convinced  of  the  justice  of  the  priesds  opinion. 
But  the  gods  had  willed  it  otherwise,  and,  to  turn  the  opinion 
of  the  people  against  Laocoon,  sent  a  judgment  upon  him  in 
the  shape  of  two  enormous  serpents,  which,  while  he  and  his 
two  sons  were  engaged  in  sacrificing  at  an  altar  by  the  shore, 
issued  from  the  sea,  and  casting  their  coils  round  the  two 
boys  first,  then  round  the  father,  who  came  to  their  assistance, 
caused  him  to  die  in  great  agony.  The  scene  is  represented 
in  a  marble  group  now  in  the  Vatican.  The  mysterious  fate 
of  Laocoon  was  readily  believed  to  be  a  punishment  for  the 
violence  he  had  done  to  the  sacred  horse. 

But  to  carry  out  effectually  the  stratagem  of  the  horse, 
Odysseus  had  left  behind  on  the  shore  his  friend  Sinon,  with 
his  hands  bound,  and  presenting  all  the  appearance  of  a  victim 
who  had  escaped  sacrifice,  which  he  professed  to  be.  The 
good  king  Priam  was  touched  by  the  piteous  story  which 
Sinon  told,  ordered  his  bonds  to  be  struck  off,  and  inquired 
the  purpose  of  the  horse.  Sinon  replied  that  it  was  a  sacred 
object,  and  would,  if  taken  into  the  city,  be  a  guarantee  of 
the  protection  of  the  gods,  as  the  Palladium  had  been  before. 


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THE  CAPTURE  OF  TROY. 


347 


^h'c*  city  gates  being  too  small^  part  of  the  wall  was  broken 
‘broiigli,  and  the  horse  conducted  in  triumph  toward  the 
citadel.  This  done,  the  Trojans,  believing  that  the  Greeks 
nad  abandoned  the  siege  in  despair,  gave  way  to  festivity  and 
general  rejoicing,  which  lasted  well  into  the  night. 

When  the  town  had  become  perfectly  quiet,  the  inhab¬ 
itants,  exhausted  by  the  unusual  excitement,  being  fast 
asleep,  Sinon  approached  the  horse,  and  opened  a  secret  door 
in  its  side.  The  heroes  then  stepped  out,  and  made  a  fire 
signal  to  the  fleet,  which  lay  concealed  behind  the  neighbor¬ 
ing  island  of  Tenedos,  and  now  advanced  quietly  to  the  shore. 
The  troops  having  disembarked  and  made  their  way  silently 
to  the  city,  there  ensued  a  fearful  slaughter,  the  surprised 
inhabitants  falling  thickly  before  the  well-armed  Greeks. 
Filially,  the  town  was  set  on  fire  in  every  corner,  and  utterly 
destroyed.  Priam  fell  by  the  hand  of  Neoptolemus.  The 
same  fate  befell  the  son  of  Hector — not  for  anything  that  he 
had  done,  but  that  he  might  not  grow  up  to  avenge  his  father’s 
death.  Of  the  few  Trojans  who  escaped  were  Aeneas,  his 
father  Anchises,  and  his  infant  son  Ascanius.  Carrying  his 
aged  father  on  his  shoulders,  Aeneas  fled  toward  Mount  Ida, 
and  thence  to  Italy,where  he  became  the  founder  of  a  new  race. 

Menelaus  became  reconciled  to  his  now  penitent  wife, 
Helena,  and  took  her  back  with  him.  The  Trojan  women 
of  rank  and  beauty  were  distributed  among  the  Greek  heroes 
as  captives  in  war,  Neoptolemus  obtaining  Andromache,  the 
widow  of  Hector,  and  Agamemnon  carrying  off  Priam’s 
daughter,  Cassandra.  The  extensive  booty  from  the  king’s 
palaces  having  been  divided,  preparations  were  made  for 
returning  home.  While  some  —  as,  for  example,  Nestor, 
Idomeneus,  Hiomedes,  Philoctetes,  and  Neoptolemus  —  had 
favorable  voyages,  and  reached  their  respective  homes  in 
safety,  others,  like  Menelaus,  were  driven  hither  and  thither 
by  storms,  which  delayed  their  passage  for  years.  But  the 
heroes  to  whose  return  the  greatest  interest  attaches  were 
Agamemnon  and  Odysseus. 


348 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


Agamemnon,  returning  after  an  absence  of  ten  years,  found 
that  his  wife,  Clytaemnestra,  had  in  the  meantime  accepted 
as  her  husband  Aegisthus,  a  son  of  Thyestes,  and,  therefore, 
of  an  accursed  line.  These  two  proposed  to  compass  the 
death  of  Agamemnon ;  and  he,  thougli  warned  of  their  de¬ 
signs  by  Cassandra,  whose  prophetic  power  enabled  her  to 
foresee  the  issue,  lent  himself  easily  to  their  purpose,  inno¬ 
cently  accepting  as  genuine  his  wife’s  expression  of  joy.  He 
entered  the  warm  bath  that  had  been  prepared  for  him,  but 
on  coming  out  of  it,  found  himself  entangled  in  a  piece  of 
cloth  which  his  wife  threw  over  his  head.  In  this  helpless 
condition  he  was  slain  by  her  and  Aegisthus,  Cassandra  and 
many  of  his  followers  perishing  with  him.  His  young  son 
Orestes,  contriving  to  escape  with  the  help  of  his  sister 
Electra,  fled  to  Phocis,  where  he  was  received  hospitably, 
and  remained  several  years,  during  which  Aegisthus  ruled 
over  Argos  on  the  throne  of  Agamemnon. 

A  few  years  after  the  murder  of  Agamemnon  an  oracle  of 
Apollo  was  communicated  to  Orestes,  commanding  him  to 
revenge  that  foul  deed,  and  promising  the  assistance  of  the 
god.  Without  being  recognized  he  arrived  at  Mycenae, 
accompanied  by  his  faithful  friend  Pylades,  and  there 
revealed  himself  to  his  sister  Electra,  while  to  his*  mother 
he  professed  to  be  a  messenger  come  with  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  her  son  Orestes.  Seeing  her  and  Aegisthus  rejoice 
at  the  news,  he  was  enraged,  and  slew  her,  while  her  husband 
fell  at  the  hands  of  Pylades. 

The  shedding  of  a  mother’s  blood  was  regarded  as  the 
blackest  crime  on  earth;  and  though  the  fact  that  Orestes 
had  perpetrated  the  deed  to  avenge  the  murder  of  his  father, 
and  at  the  instigation  of  Apollo,  went  far  to  exculpate  him, 
it  did  not  satisfy  the  malignant  Erinys  (Furies),  who  pursued 
him  from  land  to  land,  permitting  no  peace  to  his  throbbing 
heart.  Arriving,  in  the  course  of  his  wanderings,  at  Delphi, 
Orestes  complained  to  Apollo  of  his  sufferings,  and  was  told 
by  the  god  that  he  might  expect  relief  if  he  could  fetch  the 


’I 


OUESTES. 


349 


4ncient  statue  of  the  goddess  Artemis  from  Taurus.  The  diffi¬ 
culty  of  the  task  consisted  in  this,  that  it  was  the  practice  of 
the  Tauric  Artemis  to  secure  the  immolation  of  all  strangers 
that  approached  her  temple.  Fortnnately  for  Orestes,  as  it 
happened,  his  sister  Iphigenia  held  the  office  of  priestess 
there,  having  been  carried  away,  as  we  have  already  seen. 


Orestes  Slaying  Aegisthus. 


by  the  goddess  at  the  moment  when  she  was  to  be  sacrificed 
by  her  father  Agamemnon.  On  arriving  at  the  temple, 
Orestes,  who  was  accompanied  by  Pylades,  was  seized,  and 
wonld  have  been  sacrificed  by  the  hand  of  his  own  sister 
had  not  an  accident  revealed  the  relationship.  He  told  her 
all  that  had  happened,  and  how  Apollo  had  commanded  him 
to  carry  away  the  statne  of  the  goddess.  With  the  assistance 
of  Iphigenia  he  obtained  possession  of  the  image,  and  in  her 
company  returned  with  it  to  Greece. 

The  task  imposed  by  Apollo  was  accomplished,  but  still 
the  relentless  Furies  continued  to  persecute  the  unhappy 
youth.  Apollo  then  advised  him  to  proceed  to  Athens,  and 
there  to  call  for  a  trial  in  the  Areopagus,  a  court  appointed 
to  hear  causes  of  murder,  especially  the  murder  of  a  relative. 
(See  ^^Ares.’’)  The  goddess  Athene  appealed  for  justice  in 
his  behalf.  Apollo  defended  him  at  the  trial.  The  Erinys 


350 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


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appeared  as  plaintiffs.  When  the  pleadings  had  been  heardj 
and  the  votes  of  the  judges  came  to  be  taken,  they  were 
found  to  be  equally  divided  for  and  a2:aiust.  The  right  of 
giving  the  casting  vote  was  reserved  on  this  occasion  for 
Athene,  who,  stepping  forward,  took  up  a  wnito  voting- 
stone,  and,  placing  it  among  the  votes  favorable  to  Orestes, 
declared  liis  lawful  acquittal.  The  Erinys  professed  them¬ 
selves  appeased,  desisted  from  persecution,  and  from  that 
time  enjoyed  the  title  of  Bumenides.  (See  Erinys.^ 
Thus  acquitted  and  purified  from  the  stains  of  crime,  Orestes 
ascended  the  throne  of  his  father  Agamemnon,  in  Mycenae, 
married  Hermione,  the  daughter  of  Helena  and  Menelaus, 
and  at  their  death  succeeded  to  the  dominion  of  Sparta  also. 

Turning  now  to  Odysseus,  we  find  him,  long  after  the 
other  heroes  of  the  Trojan  expedition  had  reached  their 
homes,  still  being  tossed  about  by  storms,  passing  through 
great  perils,  encountering  strange  beings,  and  ultimately  suc¬ 
ceeding  in  many  unhopeful  adventures.  He  had  left  Troy 
with  a  well-manned  fleet  richly  laden  with  spoil,  and  after 
several  adventures  of  less  moment,  in  which,  however,  he 
lost  a  number  of  men,  reached  the  country  of  the  Cyclopes — 
enormous  giants  with  only  one  eye.  In  a  cave  which  was 
the  habitation  of  one  of  them,  Polyphemus  by  name,  a  son 
of  the  sea-god  Poseidon,  Odysseus  and  his  fellow-travellers 
took  shelter,  while  their  ships  lay  anchored  beside  a  neigh¬ 
boring  island.  Polyphemus,  who  was  absent  at  the  time  of 
their  arrival,  returned  with  his  sheep  to  the  cave.  The  first 
thing  he  did  on  entering  was  to  close  up  the  entrance  with  a 
great  stone,  which  a  hundred  men  could  not  have  moved. 
The  next  thing  was,  having  discovered  the  strangers,  to  eat 
two  of  them  for  his  supper,  after  which  he  slept  soundly. 
The  following  morning,  after  driving  out  his  sheep,  he  re¬ 
placed  the  stone  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  his  victims  and  the  consequent  loss  of  several  sup¬ 
pers.  The  history  of  the  first  day  having  repeated  itself  on 
the  two  following  days,  a  plan  of  escape  occurred  to  Odys- 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  ODYSSEUS.  351 

seus.  The  giant  having  had  his  usual  supper,  Odysseus 
offered  him  some  wine,  which  had  the  effect  of  creating  a 
desire  for  more.  His  goblet  being  constantly  replenished, 
Polyphemus  at  last  sank  helpless,  through  sleep  and  intox¬ 
ication.  Seeing  this,  Odysseus,  with  the  help  of  his  com¬ 
panions,  laid  hold  of  a  great  pole,  and  having  made  the  end 
of  it  red  hot,  let  it  down  on  the  giant’s  eye,  and  burned  it 
out.  Polyphemus  sprang  up  in  great  fury,  and  after  groping 
in  vain  for  his  supple 
enemies,  made  for  the 
doorway  of  the  cave, 
removed  the  stone, 
and  sat  down  in  its 
place,  determined  to 
permit  no  one  to  es¬ 
cape.  But  Odysseus 
and  his  companions 
fastened  themselves 
each  under  the  belly 
of  one  of  the  great 
sheep  within  the  cave, 
knowing  that  the  giant 
would  let  them  pass 
out  unmolested.  And 
so  it  was;  for,  feeling 
the  fleece  as  they 
passed,  he  was  quite 
satisfied.  Odysseus  once  outside  the  cave,  and  with  what 
remained  of  his  crew  safe  in  the  ship,  shouted  jeeringly  back 
to  the  Cyclopes,  telling  him  also  his  name.  Polyphemus  then 
implored  his  father,  the  god  Poseidon,  to  punish  Odysseus 
for  what  he  had  just  done.  It  was  in  answer  to  this  prayer 
that  Odysseus  was  driven  hither  and  thither,  detained  here 
and  there,  and  at  last,  after  ten  years’  wandering,  and  the 
loss  of  all  his  men,  reached  home  in  a  miserable  plight.  Of 
the  adventures  that  befell  him  after  leaving  the  country  of 


352 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


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the  Cyclopes,  the  most  important  were  the  following  :  After  j 
leaving  Aeolus,  the  king  of  the  winds,  and  suffering  the  f 
misfortune  already  related  (see  ^^Aeolus’’),  he  reached  the  J! 
habitation  of  the  sorceress  Circe  (a  sister  of  Medea,  it  was  i 
said),  whose  first  act  was  to  transform  his  companions  into 
swine.  For  Odysseus  himself  her  charms  had  no  potency. 
He  compelled  her  to  restore  his  men  to  their  proper  human  | 
form.  Changing  her  manner,  Circe  now  exhibited  a  cordial  [ 
feeling  toward  Odysseus,  entertaining  him  and  his  compan-  j 
ions  very  hospitably  for  the  period  of  a  year,  on  the  expiry  « 
of  which  she  advised  him  to  make  a  journey  to  the  lower 
world,  to  question  the  shade  of  the  seer  Tiresias  as  to  the 
fate  in  store  for  him.  Acting  on  her  advice,  Odysseus  pene-  I 
trated  to  the  region  of  Hades,  saw  and  conversed  with  the 
shades  of  some  of  his  former  companions  in  the  siege  of 
Troy,  and  then  returned  to  Circe,  who  gave  him  good  conn-  i 
sel  in  regard  to  his  future  journey.  On  his  voyage  home¬ 
ward  he  passed  the  Sirens  safely  (see  Sirens ’’),  passed  \ 
Scylla  the  sea-monster,  with  loss  of  six  men,  and  afterward,  j 
in  spite  of  the  warnings  both  of  Tiresias  and  Circe,  landed  j 
on  the  island  of  Trinacia,  where  his  companions  plundered  |l 
the  sacred  flocks  of  the  sun-god.  As  a  punishment  for  this  .  | 
they  were  afterward  overtaken  by  a  fearful  storm  at  sea,  and  | 
all  perished  except  Odysseus,  who,  clinging  to  a  piece  of  his  || 
ship  for  nine  days,  was  at  length  driven  on  shore  on  the  island  .Ji 
belonging  to  the  nymph  Calypso,  who  received  him  kindly,  :|j 
and  out  of  love  detained  him  as  her  prisoner  for  seven  years.  j|' 
Despising  her  love  and  her  offer  of  immortality,  Odysseus  ji 
sat  disconsolate  by  the  seashore,  thinking  of  his  home  in  '■ 
Ithaca,  and  yearning  to  see  it  again  before  he  died.  The 
gods,  taking  compassion  on  him,  prevailed  on  Calypso  to  let  p- 
him  go.  He  made  a  raft,  and  put  to  sea;  but  Poseidon,  not  ? 
yet  appeased  for  the  wrong  done  to  his  son  Polyphemus,  raised  !, 
a  storm  which  shattered  the  small  craft,  and  would  have 
caused  Odysseus  to  perish  but  for  the  timely  aid  of  the  sea- 
nymph  Leucothea.  Swimming  to  land,  he  found  himself  in : , 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  ODYSSEUS.  353 

the  island  of  the  Phaeaciaiis,  was  discovered  on  the  shore  by 
the  king’s  daughter,  Nausicaa,  and  entertained  hospitably 
by  the  king,  Alcinous,  to  whom  he  related  his  adventures. 
After  receiving  many  costly  presents,  he  was  conveyed  home 
to  Ithaca  in  a  well-manned  ship.  There  he  found  his  wife, 
Penelope,  still  faithful  to  him,  in  spite  of  the  incessant  wooing 
of  all  the  princes  of  the  neighboring  islands  in  the  course  of 
her  husband’s  long  absence. 


Circe. 


His  son,  Telcmachus,  whom  he  left  an  infant,  had  now 
grown  to  manhood,  and,  having  just  arrived  from  a  journey 
in  search  of  intelligence  concerning  his  missing  father,  was 
staying  in  the  house  of  a  shepherd  when  Odysseus  arrived, 
and  heard  the  story  of  how  suitors  of  Penelope  were  vexing 
her  and  consuming  her  husband’s  possessions.  Odysseus 
and  his  son  appeared  among  them  in  disguise,  raised  a 
quarrel,  and,  with  the  help  of  Athene,  slew  them  all.  Then 
took  place  the  touching  meeting  with  his  wife.  After  crush¬ 
ing  an  insurrection  raised  by  the  friends  of  the  slain  suitors, 
Odysseus  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  reigning  peacefully  over 
his  island  kingdom  of  Ithaca. 


354 


THE  TROJAN  WAR. 


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ROMULUS  AND  REMUS.  | 

The  Romans  bad  no  heroes  in  the  sense  in  which  we  have  i 
come  to  regard  that  word  from  a  study  of  the  Greek  legends,  i 
Romulus  and  Remus,  it  is  true,  have  a  legendary  character, 
which  may  be  compared  in  some  respects  with  that  of  several  f 


Romulus  and  Remus. 


Greek  heroes.  They  were  tlie  offspring  of  a  god  (Mars)  and  jl 
a  vestal  virgin.  They  were  exposed  to  death  at  their  birth, 
were  suckled  by  a  she-wolf,  were  preserved  and  brought  up  | 
among  herdsmen.  On  arriving  at  manhood,  they  returned  I 
to  claim  their  inheritance,  and  founded  the  city  of  Rome, 
Romulus  naming  it  after  himself.  They  instituted  festivals 
— the  Palilia  and  Lupercalia — the  latter  to  commemorate 
their  having  been  nourished  by  a  wolf.  They  established 
the  priesthood  of  Arval  Brothers.  Remus,  less  fortunate 
in  his  adventures,  was  slain.  His  brother  Romulus  was  at 
last  carried  up  bodily  to  heaven  in  the  presence  of  the  people 
and  in  the  course  of  a  storm  of  thunder  and  lightning.  A 
simple  hut  on  the  Palatine  hill  was  preserved  with  venera¬ 
tion  as  the  sanctuary  of  Romulus.  But  the  demand  for  his¬ 
torical  truth,  or  the  appearance  of  it,  was  too  strong  in  Rome 


HORATWS  COCLES. 


355 


to  permit  a  poetic  embellishment  of  the  story,  such  as  it 
would  have  experienced  in  Greece. 


HORATIUS  COCLES. 


The  ancient  Roman  ballads  sang  of  the  brave  Horatius, 
who  had  fought  so  well  in  the  old  wars  raised  by  the  exiled 
royal  family  and  their  partisans.  A  golden  statue  of  him 


“In  the  Brave  Days  of  Old.” 


stood  in  the  market-place,  and  beside  it  sacrifice  was  offered 
in  his  memory.  Such  honors  were  the  same  as  were  ap¬ 
pointed  for  Greek  heroes.  But  the  story  of  the  deeds  of 
Horatius  wanted,  nevertheless,  the  true  legendary  character, 
and  was  probably  accepted  by  the  people  with  more  of  pride 
than  pious  feeling. 

Murray — 26 


[  ' 


I  »  ’ 


NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


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Unlike  their  Aryan  kinsfolk,  the  Greeks,  the  Teutons 
were  not  a  literary  people.  Their  mythical  tales  were  pre¬ 
served  not  in  books,  but  in  memory.  And  Christianity,  as 
represented  alike  by  the  missionaries  and  by  Charlemagne 
himself,  did  its  best  to  destroy  Teutonic  paganism  root  and 
branch.  Hence  it  happens  that  of  the  myths  of  the  gods 
and  heroes  of  those  great  nations  who,  in  pre-Christian  times, 
inhabited  the  territories  now  included  under  the  general  name 
of  Germany,  no  complete  and  systematic  account  has  been 
transmitted  to  modern  times. 

But  the  old  Germans  were  of  the  same  race  with  the  people 
of  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark.  Their  speech  was  eseen- 
tially  the  same.  They  had  the  same  social  and  domestic 
customs  and  the  same  religion.  Further,  during  the  time 
when  Christianity  was  spreading  over  Germany  and  Scan¬ 
dinavia,  that  exodus  of  the  Norsemen  was  likewise  takiug 
place  which  ended  in  the  colonizatipn  of  Iceland — or  Snow- 
land,  as  it  was  also  named  by  its  discoverers  in  the  middle 
of  the  ninth  century.  There,  on  the  verge,’’  as  Dr. 
Dasent  says,  of  the  polar  circle,”  the  Vikings  established 
their  little  independent  principalities  or  republics;  unmed¬ 
dled  with  by  Christian  priests,  and  disdaining  the  continental 
kings  who  were  aping  the  customs  of  the  new  times,  the 
Icelandic  Norsemen  preserved,  for  five  centuries  more,  the 
pure  faith  of  their  forefathers. 

Lastly,  there  appears  to  have  been  less  antagonism,  less 
friction,  between  the  two  rival  religions — Odinism  and  Chris¬ 
tianity — in  Iceland  than  in  other  countries.  Its  Christian 
(356) 


THE  CREATION. 


357 


priests  would  seem  to  have  felt  the  loyalty  of  ehildren  toward 
their  old  faith,  then  dying  away.  Hence,  in  a  measure,  the 
complete  and  systematic  form  in  which  the  Icelanders  were 
able  to  leave  a  permanent  record  of  their  mythology.  It 
was  a  Christian  priest — Sigmund  Sigfusson — who  in  the 
middle  of  the  eleventh  century,  composed  the  compilation 
of  mythical  poems  known  as  the  elder  Edda.  To  the  suc¬ 
ceeding  century  belongs  the  younger  Edda,  which  is  merely 
a  prose  rendering  of  those  portions  of  the  first  work  which 
narrate  the  creation  of  the  world  and  man,  and  the  genera¬ 
tion,  adventures,  functions,  and  ultimate  fate  of  the  gods. 
As  a  cosmogony  and  theogony  this  Edda,  or,  as  the  word 
might  be  paraphrased,  Tales  of  a  Grandmother,^’  is  as 
complete  even  as  its  Greek  prototype,  the  Theogony  of 
Hesiod.  And  as  a  record  and  expression  of  the  spiritual 
life  of  those  Teutons,  who  also  were  the  progenitors  of  our 
English  race,  it  is,  or  surely  ought  to  be,  incomparably  more 
interesting. 

THE  CREATION. 

In  the  prose  Edda,  Ginki,  the  wise  king,  travels  in  search 
of  knowledge  to  the  home  of  the  Asia  folk — the  Norse  gods 
— each  of  whom  supplies  the  visitor  with  some  piece  of  special 
information.  The  cosmogonic  history  thus  patched  up  be¬ 
tween  them  closely  corresponds  in  main  points  with  that  con¬ 
tained  in  the  Hesiodic  poem;  while  its  special  details,  tone, 
and  coloring  are  the  expression  of  special  climatic  conditions. 
Where  the  earth  now  is  there  was  in  the  beginning,  says  the 
Edda,  no  sand,  sea,  or  grass,  but  only  an  empty  space  (Gin- 
nunga-gap),  on  whose  north  side  lay  the  region  of  mist,  ice, 
and  snow  (Niflheim),  and  on  its  south  side  the  region  of 
warmth  and  sunlight  (Muspelheim).  The  warm  breaths 
from  the  sun-land  caused  the  ice  to  melt  and  topple  over 
into  Ginnunga-gap;  and  from  the  matter  so  accumulated 
sprang  the  huge  Ymir,  ancestor  of  the  Reimthursen,  Rime, 


358  NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


or  Frost — giants.  Ymir  fed  on  the  milk  of  the  cow  And- 
Immbla,  whose  name,  it  may  be  observed,  in  the  Zenda- 
vesta,  stands  indifferently  for  cow’’  or  mother-earth.  The 
cow  herself  lived  by  licking  the  ice-blocks ;  from  which,  in 
consequence  of  the  licking,  was  produced  Bori,  who  is  alike 
the  fashioner  of  the  world,  and  the  father  of  Bor,  who  was 
the  father  of  Odin.  Odin’s  brothers  were  Wili  and  We; 
and  just  as  in  Hesiod  the  deities  Zeus,  Poseidon,  and  Hades 
supplant  Cronus,  so  the  sons  of  Bori  overthrow  and  succeed 
the  primitive  dynasty  of  Ymir  and  the  Frost  Giants.  Also 
the  dead  Ymir  is  turned  to  account  similarly  with  the  dead 
Cronus.  His  flesh  becomes  earth;  his  blood,  the  sea;  his 
bones,  the  mountains;  his  teeth,  cliffs  and  crags;  his  skull, 
the  heavens,  wherein  his  brains  float  in  the  form  of  clouds. 
The  heavens  are  supported  by  four  Dwarves — Austri  (east), 
Westri  (west),  Nordri  (north),  and  Sudri  (south);  and  the 
stars  in  it  are  the  sparks  from  the  fire-land  of  Muspelheim. 
The  new  world  thus  fashioned  was  called  Midgard,  as  being 
placed  midway  between  the  lands  of  frost  and  fire.  To 
preserve  it  and  its  inhabitants  from  the  giants  who  dwelt  in 
Jotunheim,  Odin  and  his  brother  surrounded  it  with  a  fence 
made  from  the  eyebrows  of  Ymir.  The  inhabitants  them¬ 
selves  were  said  to  have  been  produced  from  two  pieces  of 
wood  which  the  brothers  found  floating  on  the  sea,  and 
changed  into  a  man,  whom  they  named  Ash,  and  a  woman, 
whom  they  named  Embla. 

From  this  middle  world,  or  Midgard,  arose  the  Yorse 
Olympus,  or  Asgard,  whereon  dwelt  the  Asa  folk — Odin 
and  the  twelve  Aesir.  It  contained  two  mansions — Glads- 
heim  for  the  gods,  and  Yingolf  for  the  goddesses.  There 
also  was  Walhalla,  wherein  Odin  placed  one-half  of  the 
heroes  slain  in  battle,  the  other  half  being  received  by 
Freija,  the  wife  of  Odin.  Beside  those  already  named  there 
were,  as  the  Edda  says,  other  homesteads,  such  as  Elfheim, 
where  the  elves  dwelt;  Breidablick,  where  dwelt  the  bright 
and  beautiful,  far-seeing  Baldur;  Himinbiorg,  or  the  Heaven- 


LOWER  WORLD. 


359 


tower  of  the  thunder-god  Thor;  and  Valaskialf,  whence  Odin 
could  watch  all  gods  and  men.  These  gods  also  met  in 
daily  council  beneath  branches  of  the  tree  Yggdrasil, 
one  of  whose  roots  grew  in  Asgard,  the  second  in  Niflheim, 
and  the  third  in  the  realm  of  Uela,  or  death;  and  their  way 


Freija. 


thither  lay  over  the  bright  Asa-bridge,  or  Bifraust,  or  Rain¬ 
bow,  which  was  said  to  burn  all  a-fire,  so  as  to  keep  away 
the  Frost  Giants  of  Jotunheim.  Lastly,  the 

LOWER  WORLD 

Was  ruled  by  the  goddess  Hel,  and  to  it  were  consigned  those 
who  had  not  died  in  battle.  It  was  so  far  away  that  OdiAs 
swift  horse  Sleipnir  took  nine  nights  to  reach  it.  The  river 
Gioll — the  Norse  Styx — surrounded  this  lower  world  on 
every  side.  Nastrand  was  the  name  of  the  worst  spot  in  the 


360  NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


Norse  hell.  Its  roofs  and  doors  were  wattled  with  hissing 
snakes,  ejecting  poison,  through  which  perjurers  and  mur¬ 
derers  were  forced  to  wade  by  way  of  punishment. 


THE  AESIR, 

Whose  thrones  were  in  Gladsheim,  were  twelve  in  number. 
Their  names  were — Thor,  Baldr,  Freyr,  Tyr,  Bragi,  Hodr, 
Heimdall,  Vithar,  Vali,  Ullr,  Ve,  Forseti.  Thus,  with  Odin, 
the  ^ ^All-father, whose  throne  rose  above  the  other  twelve, 
the  great  gods  of  the  Norse  Pantheon  were  thirteen  in  number. 


■  <* 
ci 
Vi 

irigE 

ihK* 

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•*?!! 

era 

oil 

•i 


C3> 

M 


ODIN. 

The  physical  origin  of  the  idea  of  Odin  is  evident,  first 
from  the  meaning  of  his  name,  and,  secondly,  from  the  various 
attributes  assigned  to  him.  The  word  Odin  is  simply  another 
form  of  Woden,  or  Wuotan,  which  Grimm  connects  with 
the  Latin  vadere.  He  is  thus  the  moving,  life-giviug  breath 
or  air  of  heaven;  and  as  such  corresponds  to  the  Hindoo 
Brahmin — Atman  (German,  Athem),  or  ever-present  life  and 
energy.  His  Greek  correlative  is,  of  course,  Zeus,  who  is 
likewise  spoken  of  as  All-father.  The  name  Zeus  is  derived 
from  a  root  signifying  “  to  shine, and  thus  the  King  of  the 
Greek  Asgard  was  originally  ^^the  glistening  ether.’’  It 
was  but  natural  that  Odin,  as  the  personification  of  the  blue 
sky,  should  rule  the  rain-clouds  and  the  sunlight;  hence  as 
Odin  the  rain-giver  he  corresponds  with  Zeus  Ombrios  (the 
showery  Zeus),  while  as  the  light-god  he  is  merely  a  Norse 
Phoebus  or  Apollo,  whose  spear — the  sun  rays — disperses  the 
darkness.  As  sky-god,  and  god  of  the  moving  air,  he  was, 
no  less  naturally  or  inevitably,  invoked  as  the  protector  of 
sailors.  In  this  respect  he  corresponds  or  is  interchangeable 
with  Thor.  But  this  interchange,  or  overlapping,  of  func- 


ODIN. 


361 


tions  is  as  distinctive  of  Norse  as  of  Greek  mythology. 
Finally,  Zeus  and  Odin  resemble  each  other  in  their  develop¬ 
ment  from  purely  physical  into  spiritual  beings.  Odin,  the 
ever-present  ether,  becomes  the  ever-present  and  ever-know¬ 
ing  spirit,  the  Father  of  all.  And  as  Zeus  is  the  father  of 
the  Muses,  so  Odin  is  the  father  of  Saga,  the  goddess  of 
poetry.  The  two  ravens  that  sat  on  the  shoulders  of  Odin, 


Odin. 


and  every  morning  brought  him  news  of  what  was  passing 
in  the  world,  were  called  Hunin  and  Munin — Thought  and 
Memory.  Memory,  or  Mnemosyne,  was  the  mother  of  the 
Greek  Muses.  A  trace  of  the  worship  of  Odin  survives 
even  to  the  present  day.  In  one  of  the  Orkney  islands  is 
an  Odin  stone,  in  a  hollow  of  which  superstitious  people 


362  NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY. 

thrust  their  hands,  by  way  of  testifying  on  their  most  solemn 
oath.  The  island  of  Heligoland  is  said  to  have  derived  its 
name  from  Odin,  who  was  also  named  Helgi  (der  Heilige),  or 
the  Holy.  Charles’s  Wain,”  as  we  now  call  it,  was  named 
Odin’s  Wain;  and  the  Milky  Way”  was  also  known  as 
Odin’s  Way.  Unlike  Zeus — the  Greek  All-father  —  Odin 
was  also  a  god  of  war.  Hence  it  was  that,  as  already 
observed,  he  received  into  Walhalla  one-half  of  the  heroes 
slain  in  battle. 


tm 


The  two  goddesses  Frigg  and  Freija,  who  were  at  different 
times  believed  to  be  each  the  wife  of  Odin,  appear  to  be  the 
one  simply  a  development  of  the  other.  Of  all  the  god¬ 
desses,  Frigg  was  the  best  and  dearest  to  Odin.  She  sat 


THOR.  ^ 


363 


entlironed  beside  him,  and  surveyed  the  world.  She  knew 
'  all,  and  exercised  control  over  the  whole  face  of  nature.  In 
art  she  is  represented  seated  with  the  golden  spindle  by  her 
side,  with  which  she  used  to  spin.  She  is  attended  by  her 
handmaiden  Full  or  Fulla.  Freija  was  also  a  goddess  who 
presided  over  smiling  nature,  sending  sunshine,  rain,  and  har¬ 
vest.  She  was  further  a  goddess  into  whose  charge  the  dead 
passed.  As  has  been  said,  half  the  number  of  heroes  who 
fell  in  battle  belonged  to  her.  She  is  represented  driving  in 
a  cart  drawn  by  two  cats. 

In  art  Odin  is  figured  seated  on  his  throne,  and  attended 
by  the  ravens,  Hunin  and  Munin,  and  the  two  dogs. 


THOR, 


Or  Donar,  simply  meant  the  Thunderer — der  Donnerer  ;  and 
he  dwelt  in  the  vault  of  heaven.  As  he  was  likewise  said  to 


Thor. 


be  the  son  of  Odin,  or  of  Heaven,  it  is  evident  that,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  All-father,  he  had  a  purely  physical  origin. 
As  the  god  of  thunder  and  lightning  Thor  resembles  Zeus; 


[ 

364  NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY.  ^ 

•and  as  the  thunderbolts  of  Zeus  were  forged  by  the  smith-  ^ 
god  Hephaestus,  who  dwelt  below  ground,  so  the  hammer  of 
Odin  was  smithied  by  the  Dwarves  (zwerge),  or  black  elves,  [i 
who  dwelt  within  the  earth.  Thor  is  represented  driving  ? 
through  the  clouds  in  a  car  drawn  by  two  goats.  Among  I 


the  pagan  Norsemen  Thor’s  hammer  was  held  in  as  much  ! 
reverence  as  Christ’s  cross  among  Christians.  It  was  carved  | 
on  their  gravestones;  and,  wrought  of  wood,  or  of  iron,  it  i 
was  suspended  in  their  temples.  Thor,  under  the  symbol  of 


BALDR. 


365 


the  hammer,  was  invoked  as  the  deity  who  made  marriages 
fruitful.  He  was  also  the  god  of  the  hearth  and  of  lire. 

As  a  sky-god  Thor  is  identical  with  Odin  much  in  the 
same  way  as  Vishnu  is  with  Indra.  While  the  other  Asa 
folk  ride  to  their  try  sting-place,  Thor  goes  on  foot:  he  is 
the  striding  god,  as  Vishnu  is,  who  traverses  heaven  in  three 
steps.  Thor  is  perhaps  identical  with  the  Gallic  god  Taranis, 
whose  name  resembles  in  sound  the  Scottish  Celtic  word  for 
thunder.  Thor  has  also  been  identified  with  the  Slavonic 
god  Perkunes,  or  Perune,  whose  name,  according  to  a  well- 
kuown  law  of  phonetic  change,  is  thought  to  be  connected 
with  the  Greek  word  for  thunder — Ceraunos.  In  art  Thor 
is  represented  driving  in  his  car  drawn  by  two  goats,  with 
his  hammer  raised  to  strike. 


BALDR 

Means  the  shining  god.  His  son  Brono  means  daylight,  in 
the  Anglo-Saxon  theogony.  His  home  is  called  Breidablick 
— the  far  or  wide-shining;  and  the  name  evidently  conveys 
an  idea  similar  to  that  suggested  by  such  Greek  words  as 
Euryphassa,  Eurynome,  and  Eurydice.  The  story  of  Baldr 
— the  most  lovely  and  pathetic  not  only  in  Norse  but  in  any 
mythology  —  leaves  no  doubt  whatever  as  to  its  physical 
origin  and  significance.  The  joy  of  the  world  in  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  Baldr  means  only  the  gladness  inspired  by  sunlight. 
The  solemn  oath  sworn  by  all  living  things  not  to  hurt  the 
bright  god,  and  their  speechless  dismay  at  his  death,  only 
mean  the  gloom  of  the  northern  climes  during  the  winter 
months,  when,  in  the  purely  concrete  language  of  the  primi¬ 
tive  race,  Baldr,  or  the  sun,  was  dead. 

The  myth  says  that  only  the  mistletoe  had  not  sworn  not 
to  hurt  Baldr;  that  Loki  discovered  the  fact,  and  then 
directed  Hodr — the  blind  god  of  the  winter  months — to 
shoot  him  with  a  twig  of  it.  This  mistletoe-bough  is 


366  NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY.  \ 

i 

another  form  of  the  thorn  with  which  Odin  puts  to  sleep 
the  spring  maiden  Brynhild,  of  the  thorn  of  the  Persian  ( 
Isfeudyar,  or  of  the  boards  tusk  which  kills  the  bright,  j 
spring-like  Adonis.  Loki,  it  was  said,  fled  from  the  wrath  j 
of  the  gods,  changed  himself  into  a  salmon,  was  then  caught  ij 
by  them  in  a  net,  and  bound  fast  until  the  twilight  of  the  ! 
gods — or,  in  Christian  terminology,  until  the  judgment-day.  \ 
The  unlucky  Hodr  was  killed  by  Odin’s  son,  Bali,  whose  I 
home  was  among  the  willows  and  in  the  dry  grass.  ! 

FEEYE,  I 

Is  likewise  named  Fro.  The  functions  ascribed  to  him  are  I 
another  instance  of  that  interchange  or  overlapping  to  which  ■ 
we  have  referred  above,  and  which  seems  to  be  accounted  i 
for  by  the  hypothesis  that  whole  groups  of  m^Thical  beings 
are  in  reality  but  personified  epithets  of  one  and  the  same 
thing.  Thus  Freyr,  as  the  cause  of  fruitfulness,  is  merely 
the  sun-lit  and  air-breathing  heaven  as  represented  by  Odin. 
Like  Odin,  he  is  the  patron  of  seafarers.  Not  only  is  Freyr 
repeated,  so  to  speak,  in  Odin,  but  also — or  if  not  the  god 
himself,  then  his  servant  Skirnir  —  in  the  Volsung  and 
Niblung  heroes,  Sigurd,  Sigmund,  and  Gunnar.  And  as  J 
Sigurd  can  win  the  maiden  Brynhild  only  by  riding  through 
the  flaming  fire  which  surrounded  and  guarded  her  dwelling, 
so  by  the  same  exploit  must  Skirnir  win  Gerda  for  the 
master.  In  later  times,  when  the  old  religion  had  given 
way  before  Christianity,  and  its  myths  were  being  explained 
on  the  Euhemerist  method,  it  was  alleged  that  Freyr  had  .  | 
only  been  a  Swedish  king,  whose  sorrowing  subjects  buried  f 
his  body  in  a  magnificent  tomb,  to  which,  for  three  whole 
years,  they  continued  to  bring  their  presents,  as  if  Freyr 
were  alive. 

This  Euhemerism  is,  however,  inconsistent  with  the  most 
authoritative  source  of  all — the  Eddas.  In  Dasent’s  Prose  * 


FREYh. 


367 


Edda  Freyr  is  described  as  the  god  of  rain,  sunshine,  and 
>  fruits — as  Odin,  in  fact,  in  another  shape.  His  wife  was 
Gredr,  whose  beauty — as  he  saw  her  leaving  her  father’s 
house,  and  shedding  a  lustre  over  air  and  sea — captivated 
the  god,  and  allowed  him  no  rest  till  he  won  her. 


Freyr. 


In  art  Freyr  is  represented  riding  on  a  wild  boar  through 
the  air  at  a  speed  greater  than  that  of  the  swiftest  horse. 
Sometimes  he  was  drawn  by  it  in  a  car.  In  crossing  the  sea 
he  also  used  a  boat. 


C3 

;£ 


C3> 


368  NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY. 

TYR 

Is  likewise  named  Zia,  and  Saxnot.  Our  word  Tuesday  is 
a  memorial  of  his  name.  Once  more,  this  god  seems  to  be 
an  instance  of  personifying  an  epithet.  Ziu  is  identical  with  { 
the  root — meaning  shine  — of  the  Sanscrit  DynauSyXhe  f 

Greek  Zeus,  and  the  Latin  Deus.  Tyr,  therefore,  is  another  | 
glistening  god.  He  is  pre-eminently  the  god  of  war  and  of  j; 
athletic  sports.  On  him  it  is  good  for  wrestlers  to  call.’^ 
Tyr  had  only  one  hand,  the  other  having  been  bitten  off  by  i 
the  wolf  Fenris,  into  whose  mouth  the  god  had  placed  it  as 
a  pledge  of  security,  when  the  wolf  allowed  himself  to  be 
bound  in  the  net  that  shall  hold  him  fast  till  the  judgment- 
day. 

BRAGI 

Is  the  god  of  poetry  and  eloquence.  ^  ^  He  is  famous  for 
wisdom,  and  best  in  tongue-wit  and  cunning  speech.^’  A 
sort  of  counterpart  of  this  god  was  his  wife  Iduna,  who 
dwelt  in  the  underworld.  She  is  spoken  of  in  terms  that 
recall  the  Hindoo  description  of  Ushas — Eos — or  the  Daure 
goddess.  For  as  Ushas — the  Dawn — makes  the’ world  young 
every  new  morning,  so  Iduna  is  said  to  preserve  in  a  box  the 
golden  apples  which  the  gods  ate,  and  so  made  themselves 
young  again. 

HEIMDALL 

Was  the  watchman  of  the  bridge  Bifrost,  leading  to  the 
underworld.  The  sound  of  HeimdalFs  horn  is  heard  over 
the  world,  and  shall  be  the  signal  for  the  great  battle  between 
the  gods  on  the  day  of  their  ending,  or  twilight.  The  name  ■ 
of  his  horse,  Gulltopr  (Goldropf,  or  golden  mare),  connects 
him  with  the  sun  gods  and  sun-horses  of  classical  mythology. 
Heimdall  was  so  sharp  a  watchman  that  he  could  even  hear  » 


HEIMDALL. 


369 

the  grass  grow  on  the  earth  and  the  wool  on  the  backs  of 
.  sheep  ! 

Vithar  was  next  in  strength  to  Thor.  As  the  ''  twilight/' 
or  Gdtterddmmerungj  Vithar  shall  destroy  the  wolf  Fenris, 
the  devourer  of  the  gods,  by  placing  one  foot  on  the  mon¬ 
ster's  lower  jaw,  and  pushing  up  the  upper  one  —  thus 
wrenching  them  asunder.  Ulle  is  the  god  of  the  chase;  a 
skilful  bowman  and  a  fast  runner  on  stilts.  Like  Bragi  and 
Iduna,  Mimir  is  the  deity  of  wisdom  and  knowledge.  He 
dwelt  by  the  ash-tree,  Yggdrasil,  beneath  whose  roots  bubbled 
forth  the  well  of  wisdom,  Mimir' s  well,  from  whose  waters 
Mimir  drank  his  daily  draught. 


The  Wolf  Fenris. 


Loki  dwelt  in  the  land  of  the  dead.  He  was  the  son  of 
the  giant  Farbanti,  whose  duty  it  was  to  ferry  the  dead  over 
the  waters  of  the  lower  world.  Loki  had  three  children  as 
cruel  and  hateful  as  he  himself  was  full  of  mischief.  One 
was  the  huge  wolf  Fenris,  who,  at  the  last  day,  shall  hurry 
gaping  to  the  scene  of  battle,  with  his  lower  jaw  scraping  the 
earth  and  his  nose  scraping  the  sky  !  The  second  was  the 


370  NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


IMMSA 

iKinJI 


{ 
i 

f 

serpent  of  Midgard — the  serpent  which  Odin  threw  into  the 
sea,  where  the  monster  grew  to  such  length  that  it  embraced 
the  whole  world  in  its  folds.  The  third  was  the  goddess 
Hel,  who  was  half  black  and  half  blue,  and  lived  daintily  j 
on  the  brains  and  marrow  of  men. 

Hel  is,  in  fact,  that  dreadful  Hindoo  goddess  Kali,  who, 
in  these  modern  days,  has  degenerated  into  a  Doorga  of  quite  | 
a  pathetic  and  interesting  character.  Loki  was  at  the  bottom  |i 
of  all  the  mischief  that  ever  happened  in  the  society  of  the 
gods.  The  character  of  this  god  and  his  close  relationship  J 
with  a  personage  who  figures  conspicuously  in  modern  the-  f 
ology  are  pretty  well  indicated  in  the  following  adage,  with  |! 
its  equivalents  in  German  and  English  :  Loki  er  or  bondum  J 
— der  Teufel  ist  frei  gelassen — the  devil  is  loose. 

Of  the  almost  countless  beings  who  figure  in  Norse  my¬ 
thology  we  must  say  but  very  little.  Like  the  great  gods, 
they  appear  to  be  representative  of  the  good  and  evil  powers  , 
of  nature.  Among  them  are  the  Elves  (Alfen,  Elfen)  who  J 
live  in  Alfheimr  (Elf-home).  Their  king  is  the  Erlkonig 
(Elfen  Konig).  In  the  night  hours  they  come  in  troops  to 
dance  in  the  grass,  leaving,  according  to  popular  belief,  their  | 
traces  in  the  form  of  fairy-rings.  The  dwarves  (Zwerge),  ^ 
whose  father  is  named  Ivaldr,  dwell  in  the  heart  of  the  hills,  i 
To  them  belong  precious  stones  and  metals,  on  which  they 
prove  their  skill  in  workmanship.  As  guardians  of  hidden 
treasures  they  were  propitiated  by  the  seekers  of  the  same 
with  a  black  goat  or  a  black  cock.  An  echo  is  called  by  the 
Icelanders  Dwergmaal-Zwergsprache — or  dwarf-voice.  The 
evil  beings  who  stole  the  light  every  evening,  and  the  sum¬ 
mer  every  year,  were  called  giants.  Such  were  the  Keifrie- 
sen  (Hrimthursen)  who  brought  the  winter.  The  giant 
Hrungnir  had  a  head  of  stone  and  a  heart  of  stone;  and  a 
giantess,  mother  of  Gmir,  as  many  as  nine  hundred  heads. 
Another  giant  was  Thiassi,  who  slew  Thor  and  cast  his  eyes 
up  to  heaven,  where  they  shone  thereafter  as  stars.  In  the 
extreme  north  dwelt  the  giant  Hresvelgr,  the  motion  of  [ 


HRES  VEL  GR-S  UR  TR 


371 


whose  wings  caused  wind  and  tempest,  in  which  respect  he 
resembles  the  gigantic  bird  of  the  Buddhist  play,  Naga-- 


The  Valkyrior. 

nanda,  who  raises  the  waves  of  the  sea  by  the  flapping  of 
his  wings.  On  the  extreme  south  was  Surtr,  whose  flaming 

Murray — 27 


S't 

C3 

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»»El 

iitKi 

«ae 

rx 

ir,j 

■iCg 

era 

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Mtr.% 


U,« 

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tl 


372  NOBSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY. 

sword  guarded  the  bounds  of  Muspelheim.  Besides  these 
there  were  the  Trollweiber  (troll  arvis),  phantoms  from  the 
land  of  the  dead,  who  in  the  dark  nights  rode  to  the  earth 
on  a  wolf  bridled  with  snakes.  The  three  Nornen  were  the 
Norse  Fates.  The  Valkyrien  were  fair  maidens  who  hovered 
over  the  field  of  battle,  woke  up  the  dead  heroes  with  a  kiss, 
and  led  away  their  souls  to  fight  and  drink  ale  as  of  old  in 
the  happy  Valhalla. 


THE  TALE  OF  THE  VOLSUNGS  AND 

NIBLUNGS. 

The  Volsunga  Saga  and  Nibelungenlied  hardly  differ  in 
anything  but  the  name.  The  one  is  merely  the  Norse,  the 
other  the  German,  form  of  one  and  the  same  nature  myth, 
or  epic.  According  to  the  Solar  myth  ’’  theorists,  this  epic 
serves  the  common  purpose  of  all  Aryan  nations;  in  India 
being  known  under  the  names  of  Ramayana  and  Mahabha- 
rata;  in  Greece  as  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey;  in  our  more 
northern  lands  as  the  Tale  of  the  Yolsungs  and  theNibelungen 
Lay;  and  in  England  as  the  tale  of  King  Arthur  and  his 
Knights  of  the  Round  Table.  Whatever  objections  may 
be  urged  against  the  Solar  myths’^  explanation  of  these 
stories,  it  is  quite  indisputable  that  the  main  incidents  in  all 
of  them  completely  coincide.  Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to 
affirm  that  fully  to  appreciate  the  spirit  of  any  one  of  these 
great  epics  of  the  world,  the  student  must  possess  some 
acquaintance  with  its  co-ordinate  ones.  But  not  only  do  the 
main  incidents  in  the  Northern  Epics  coincide  with  those  in 
the  Iliad  and  Odyssey,  but  they  even  contain  episodes  which 
correspond  in  everything  except  the  name  with  plots  in 
Greek  tragedy.  Gudrun,  for  example,  is  only  a  Norse 
Medea.  We  now  proceed  to  give  a  slight  sketch  of  the 
Volsunga  Saga. 

Volsung  was  the  son  of  Rerir,  the  son  of  the  Sigi,  the  son 


THE  TALE  OF  THE  VOLSUNGS  AND  NIBLUNGS.  373 


of  Odin.  Volsung  lay  for  seven  years  in  his  mother’s 
'  womb ;  and  they  said  the  youngling  kissed  his  mother  be¬ 
fore  she  died.  Volsung  had  a  daughter  called  Signy,  who 
was  married  to  Siggeir,  King  of  Gothland.  During  the 
marriage  festivities  in  Volsung’ s  house,  and  as  the  good  folk 
sat  round  the  evening  fire,  there  entered  an  old  man  wrapped 
in  a  cloak,  who  drove  a  sword  into  a  log  of  wood  right  up 
to  the  hilt,  predicted  great  things  of  the  hero  who  should  be 
able  to  draw  it  out  again,  and  immediately  disappeared. 
The  old  man  was  Odin;  and  the  sword  was  the  sword  of 
Gram,  which  has  its  counterpart  in  the  sword  of  Chrysaor, 
in  Roland’s  Dnrandal,  and  in  King  Arthur’s  Excalibur. 
And  as  only  Theseus  could  lift  the  huge  stone,  and  none  but 
Ulysses  could  draw  his  own  bow,  so  among  the  assembled 
heroes  only  Sigmund  the  son  of  Volsung  could  pull  out 
Gram. 

Volsung  was  afterward  murdered  in  the  land  of  Siggeir; 
wherefore  Sigmund  avenged  the  death  of  his  father  by  kill¬ 
ing  the  children  of  his  brother-in-law,  Siggeir.  After  that 
he  returned  to  his  own  land,  and  married  Borghild,  by  whom 
he  had  two  children,  Helgi  and  Hamund.  But  Sigmund 
was  no  more  constant  in  his  loves  than  other  heroes  of  whom 
we  read  in  classical  literature.  He  fell  in  love  with  Hjordis, 
who  was  beloved  by  the  sou  of  King  Hunding.  Between 
the  two  heroes  there  ensued  a  fight,  during  which  the  one- 
eyed  man  in  a  blue  cloak,  and  a  bill  in  his  hand,  appeared, 
whereupon  Sigmund  was  slain.  The  dying  Sigmund  com¬ 
forted  his  wife  Hjordis,  and  entrusted  to  her  charge  his  sword 
Gram,  wishing  her  to  preserve  it  for  their  unborn  boy. 
^‘And  now,”  said  he,  I  grow  weary  with  my  wounds,  and 
I  Avill  go  to  see  our  kin  that  have  gone  before  me.”  So 
Hjordis  sat  over  him  till  he  died  at  the  day  dawning. 

Hjordis  after  that  married  Hialprek,  King  of  Denmark, 
a  character  who  corresponds  to  the  Grecian  Laius  and  Akri- 
sius.  At  Hialprek’ s  court  was  born  Sigurd,  the  son  of 
Hjordis  and  Sigmund — the  favorite  hero  of  Norse  mythol- 


374  NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


« 

mm 


Urn 


;» 


ogy.  Sigurd  was  taught  in  all  the  arts  and  sciences  by 
Regiu,  the  cunning  blacksmith,  who  was  also  the  brother  of  ; 
the  otter  killed  by  Odin,  and  the  serpent — or  worm — Fafnir, 
who  guarded  those  golden  treasures  which,  according  to  the 
Solar  theory,  mean  the  gladdening  and  revivifying  sunlight, 
Fafnir  himself  being  the  evil  power,  the  cloud,  or  the  dark¬ 
ness  which  steals  the  light.  Regin  wished  to  secure  the  j 
treasure  for  himself,  and  forged  a  sword  for  Sigurd  to  slay  ;j 
the  worm  with.  But  it  shivered  into  pieces  on  its  very  first  | 
trial ;  and  Sigurd,  in  contempt  at  Regin^  s  smithing,  procures  ! 
the  fragments  of  his  paternah  sword  Gram,  and  Regin  welds  i 
them  together.  Gram  stood  every  test.  Sigurd  drove  it, 
right  to  the  hilt,  into  Reginks  anvil;  and  after  that,  a  lock  of  I 
wool,  borne  on  the  surface  of  the  stream,  divided  into  two  j 
against  the  motionless  edge.  Sigurd  slew  Fafnir,  and  pro¬ 
cured  the  treasure;  and  next  he  slew  Regin,  who  wished  to 
possess  the  whole  of  the  prize  on  the  plea  that  his  forging  of 
the  weapon  had  really  won  the  victory.  After  that  Sigurd 
went  to  free  the  Valkyrie  Brynhild,  according  to  the  Solar.  ^ 
myth,  the  Maiden  of  Spring,  for  whom  the  cold  earth  is  long- 
ing.  Brynhild  lay  in  the  sleep  into  which  she  had  been 
thrown  by  the  thorn  of  Odin — that  is,  by  the  thorn,  or  cold,  ^ 
or  frost  of  winter. 

Sigurd,  like  his  mythical  relatives  in  Norse  and  Greek  J!! 
stories,  was  unfaithful  in  his  loves.  He  fell  in  love  with  ‘  | 
Gudrun,  the  sister  of  Gunnar,  and  that,  too,  in  spite  of  those  f  i 
love  scenes  and  speeches  of  his  with  Brynhild,  for  the  beauty 
of  which  the  Volsung  Saga  is  perhaps  unequalled  by  any 
other  epic  story  whatever.  Brynhild  had  sworn  to  marry 
only  the  man  who  could  ride  through  the  fire  which  sur¬ 
rounded  her  dwelling.  This  Gunnar  could  not  do;  but 
Sigurd  did  it  in  GunnaFs  shape,  whereafter  Brynhild  agreed 
to  marry  Gunnar.  But  Gudrun,  in  her  triumph,  revealed 
the  secret ;  and  just  as  Oenone  procured  the  death  of  the 
unfaithful  Paris,  and  Deianeira  that  of  the  fickle  Hercules, 
so  Brynhild  compassed  the  death  of  Sigurd.  Brynhild  also, 


THE  TALE  OF  THE  VOLSUNQS  AND  NIBLUNGS.  375 


like  another  Deianeira,  dies,  in  grief,  on  the  funeral  pile  of 
her  husband.  Next,  Gudrun,  also  grieving  for  Sigurd, 
leaves  her  home;  but  she  marries  Atli,  King  of  Hunland. 
It  would  seem  that  this  Atli  must  be  another  name  for  the 
powers  of  darkness,  for  he  invited  his  wife’s  brothers  to  his 
court,  in  order  that  he  might  seize  the  golden  treasure,  the 
sunlight,”  which  they  had  received  from  the  dead  Sigurd. 
Tiiese  treasures  the  brothers  buried  in  the  Rhine  river,  and 
went  on  their  way  to  Hunland,  though  they  well  knew  they 
were  destined  never  to  return.  The  scene  in  which  the 
brothers  are  slain  by  the  treacherous  Atli  is  unsurpassed  for 
power  and  terror  by  any  fighting  story,  except,  perhaps,  by 
that  one  in  the  Mahabharata  which  describes  the  final  strug¬ 
gle  on  the  battle-field  of  Hastinapur.  Next  follows  Gudrun’ s 
revenge  for  the  death  of  her  brothers;  like,  as  we  have 
already  said,  a  Norse  Medea,  she  slew  her  own  and  Atli’s 
children. 

'Bnt  we  cannot  further  pursue  those  final  tragedies  in  which 
all  the  various  kinsfolk  die  by  each  other’s  hands  and  in 
obedience  to  that  stern,  inevitable  fate  which  in  these  tales 
seems  to  be  personified  in  Odin,  and  looms  so  terribly  in  the 
background  of  the  dramas  of  Sophocles  and  Aeschylus. 

We  would,  in  conclusion,  recommend  the  student  to  read 
the  translation  of  the  Volsung  Saga,  recently  published  by 
Morris  and  Magnusson,  as  also  Dr.  Dasent’s  translation  of  the 
Prose  Edda.  Those  who  know  German  may  also  consult 
Wilhelm  Mannhardt’s  Die  Goiter  der  deutschen  und  no7'- 
dischen  Yblker.  For  an  exhaustive  exposition  of  the  Solar 
myth”  theory,  alike  of  the  subjects  embraced  in  the  fore¬ 
going  sketch  and  of  Aryan  myths  in  general,  we  recommend 
the  student  to  the  work  of  George  W.  Cox  on  The  My¬ 
thology  of  the  Aryan  Nations, 


THE  MYTHOLOGY  AND  EELIGION  OF 

THE  HINDOOS. 


In  the  Veda,  the  earliest  record  of  the  Sanscrit  language, 
many  of  the  myths  common  to  the  Aryan  nations  are  pre¬ 
sented  in  their  simplest  form.  Hence  the  special  value  of 
Hindoo  myths  in  a  study  of  Comparative  Mythology.  But 
it  would  be  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  myths  of  the  Greeks, 
Latins,  Slavonians,  Norsemen,  old  Germans,  and  Celts  were 
derived  from  those  of  the  Hindoos.  For  the  myths,  like  the 
languages,  of  all  these  various  races,  the  Hindoos  included, 
are  derived  from  one  common  source.  Greek,  Latin,  San¬ 
scrit,  etc.,  are  but  modifications  of  a  primitive  Aryan  lan¬ 
guage  that  was  spoken  by  the  early  ‘  ^Aryans before  they 
branched  away  from  their  original  home,  wherever  that  may 
have  been,  to  form  new  nationalities  in  India,  Greece,  North¬ 
ern  Europe,  Central  Europe,  etc.  The  Sanscrit  language  is 
thus  not  the  mother,  but  the  elder  sister  of  Greek  and  the 
kindred  tongues  :  and  the  Vedic  mythology  is,  in  like  man¬ 
ner,  only  the  elder  sister  of  the  other  Aryan  mythologies. 
It  is  by  reason  of  the  discovery  of  the  common  origin  of 
these  languages  that  scholars  have  been  enabled  to  treat 
mythology  scientifically.  For  example,  many  names  unin¬ 
telligible  in  Greek  are  at  once  explained  by  the  meaning  of 
their  Sanscrit  equivalents.  Thus,  the  name  of  the  chief 
Greek  god,  Zeus,  conveys  no  meaning  in  itself.  But  the 
Greek  sky-god  Zeus  evidently  corresponds  to  the  Hindoo 
sky-god  Dyaus,  and  this  word  is  derived  from  a  root  div 
or  dyu,  meaning  to  shine.’’  Zeus,  then,  meant  originally 
the  glistening  ether;”  and  the  Sanscrit  devas,  Greek 
(376) 


MYTHOLOGY  AND  RELIGION  OF  THE  HINDOOS.  377 

theos,  and  Latin  deus,  meaning  god/’  are  from  the  same 
root,  and  signify  shining”  or  heavenly.”  Similarly 


The  Incarnation  of  Vishnu. 


other  Greek  names  are  explained  by  their  counterparts,  or 
cognate  words  in  Sanscrit.  Thus,  the  name  of  Zeus  s  wife, 
Hera,  belongs  to  a  Sanscrit  root  svar,  and  originally  meant 


378  MYTHOLOGY  AND  RELIGION  OF  THE  HINDOOS. 

the  bright  sky,  the  goddess  herself  being  primarily  the 
bright  air;  and  Erins  is  explained  by  the  Sanserit  Saranyu. 
In  India  there  have  been  two  dynasties,  as  it  were,  of  gods — 
the  Vedic  and  Brahmanic.  The  Vedic  gods  belong  to  the 
very  earliest  times,  appear  obviously  as  elemental  powers, 
and  are  such  as  would  have  been  worshipped  by  a  simple, 
uninstructed,  agricultural  people.  The  Brahmanic  religion 
was,  in  great  part  at  least,  a  refined  development  of  the 
former;  and  was  gradually  displacing  the  simpler  worship 
of  Vedism  many  centuries  before  the  birth  of  Christ.  Five 
or  six  centuries  before  the  last  event.  Dissent,  under  the 
name  and  form  of  Buddhism,  became  the  chief  religion  of 
India;  but  in  about  ten  centuries  Brahmanism  recovered  its 
old  position.  Buddhism  now  retains  but  comparatively  few 
followers  in  India.  Its  chief  holds  are  in  Burmah,  Siam, 
Japan,  Thibet,  Nepaul,  China,  and  Mongolia;  and  its  nominal 
followers  at  the  present  day  perhaps  outnumber  those  of  all 
other  religions  put  together. 


THE  VEDIG  GODS. 


DYAUS 

Was,  as  we  have  already  indicated,  the  god  of  the  bright 
sky,  his  name  being  connected  with  that  of  Zeus  through  the 
root  div  or  dyu.  That  the  god-name  and  the  sky-name  were 
interchangeable  is  evident  from  such  classical  expressions  as 
that  ''  Zeus  rains’’  (i.  e.,  the  sky  rains).  In  such  expres¬ 
sions  there  is  hardly  any  mythological  suggestion  ;  and  the 
meaning  of  the  name  Dyaus — like  those  of  the  names  Uranus 
and  Cronus  in  Greek — always  remained  too  transparent  for 
it  to  become  the  nucleus  of  a  myth.  Dyaus,  however,  was 
occasionally  spoken  of  as  an  overruling  spirit.  The  epithet, 
Dyaus  pitar,  is  simply  Zeus  pater — Zeus  the  father;  or,  as  it 
is  spelled  in  Latin,  Jupiter.  Another  of  his  names,  Jcinitarj 
is  the  Sanscrit  for  genetor,  a  title  of  Zeus  as  the  father  or 
producer.  Dyaus  'pitavy  father  sky,”  and  pvithus  imatavy 
mother  earth,”  are  generally  spoken  of  together. 


YARUNA 

Is  also  a  sky-god  :  but  in  later  times  he  becomes  god  of  the 
waters.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  root  var,  to  cover,  or 
envelop  :  and  so  far  Yaruna  (accent  Yaruna)  means  the  vault 
of  heaven.  Here,  then,  we  seem  to  find  a  clue  to  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  Greek  Uranus,  whom  we  already  know  to  have 
been  a  sky-god;  Uranus  means  the  coverer;  but,  as  observed 
above  the  name  would  have  remained  unintelligible  apart 
^  (  379  ) 


380 


THEy  VEDIC  GODS. 


from  its  reference  to  the  Sanscrit  name.  The  myth  of 
Yaruna  is  a  wonderful  instance  of  the  readiness  and  com¬ 
pleteness  with  which  the  Hindoo  genius  spiritualized  its 
sense-impressions.  From  the  conception  of  the  thousand- 
eyed  (or  starred)  Yaruna,  who  overlooked  all  men  and 
things,  the  Indian  Aryans  passed  to  the  loftier  conception 
of  Yaruna  as  an  all-seeing  god  or  providence,  whose  spies, 
or  angels,  saw  all  that  took  place.  Some  of  the  finest  pas¬ 
sages  in  the  Yedic  hymns  are  those  in  which  the  all-seeing 
Yaruna  is  addressed,  as  in  the  following  verses,  translated 
by  Muller  from  the  Rigveda  : 

“  Let  me  not  yet,  O  Varuna,  enter  into  the  house  of  clay;  hav« 
mercy,  Almighty,  have  mercy ! 

If  I  go  along  trembling  like  a  cloud  driven  by  the  wind;  have 
mercy,  Almighty,  have  mercy  I 

“  Through  want  of  strength,  though  strong  and  bright  god,  have  I 
gone  to  the  wrong  shore ;  have  mercy.  Almighty,  have  mercy ! 

“  Thirst  came  upon  the  worshipper,  tho’  he  stood  in  the  midst  of 
the  waters ;  have  mercy.  Almighty,  have  mercy ! 

“  Whenever  we  men,  O  Varuna,  committed  offence  before  the 
heavenly  host,  whenever  we  break  thy  law  through  thoughtfulness ; 
have  mercy.  Almighty,  have  mercy !  ’’ 


INDKA. 

The  connection,  or  identity,  between  Zeus  and  Dyaus  seems 
to  be  chiefly  limited  to  the  names.  There  is  greater  resem¬ 
blance  between  Indra  and  Zeus  than  between  Zeus  and 
Dyaus.  Indra,  as  the  hurler  of  the  thunderbolts  and  as  a 
cloud  compeller,^^  coincides  with  Zeus  and  Thor. 

The  myth  of  Indra — the  favorite  Yedic  god — is  a  further 
instance  of  that  transition  from  the  physical  to  spiritual 
meaning  to  which  we  have  referred,  though  Indra  is  by  no 
means  so  spiritual  a  being  as  Yaruna.  It  is  also  a  good 
instance  of  the  fact  that,  as  the  comparative  mythologisls 
express  it,  the  further  back  the  myths  are  traced  the  more 
''  atmospheric^’  do  the  gods  become.  First,  of  the  merely 


INDR  A. 


381 


physical  Indra.  Indra  shatters  the  cloud  with  his  bolt,  and 
releases  the  imprisoned  waters.  His  purely  physical  origin 
is  further  indicated  by  the  mythical  expression  that  the 
clouds  moved  in  Indra  as  the  winds  in  Dyaus — an  expres- 
s  i  o  n  implying 
that  Indra  was  a 
name  for  the  sky. 

Also,  the  stories 
told  of  him  cor¬ 
respond  closely 
with  some  in 
classical  my¬ 
thology.  Like 
Hermes  and 
Hercules  he  is  en¬ 
dowed  with  pre¬ 
cocious  strength ; 
like  Hermes  he 
goes  in  search  of 
the  cattle,  the 
clouds  which  the 
evil  powers  have 
driven  away  ;  indra. 

and  like  Hermes 

he  is  assisted  by  the  breezes — though  in  the  Hindoo  myth 
by  the  storm-winds,  rather  —  the  Maruts.  His  beard  of 
lightning  is  the  red  beard  of  Thor.  In  a  land  with  the 
climatic  conditions  of  India,  and  among  an  agricultural 
people,  it  was  but  natural  that  the  god  whose  fertilizing 
showers  brought  the  corn  and  wine  to  maturity  should  be  re¬ 
garded  as  the  greatest  of  all. 

<<  JJ0  wh.0  as  soon  as  born  is  the  first  of  the  deities,  who  has  done 
honor  to  the  gods  by  his  exploits ;  he  at  whose  might  heaven  and 
earth  are  alarmed,  and  who  is  known  by  the  greatness  of  his  strength  ; 
he,  men,  is  Indra. 

“  He  who  fixed  firm  the  moving  earth  ;  who  tranquillized  the  in- 


382 


THE  VEDIC  GODS. 


censed  mountains;  who  spread  the  spacious  firmament;  who  con¬ 
solidated  the  heavens ;  he,  men,  is  Indra. 

‘‘  He  who,  having  destroyed  Ahi,  set  free  the  seven  rivers;  who 
recovered  the  cows  detained  by  Bal ;  who  generated  fire  in  the  clouds ; 
who  is  invincible  in  battle ;  he,  men,  is  Indra. 

“  He  under  whose  control  are  horses  and  cattle,  and  villages,  and 
all  chariots ;  who  gave  birth  to  the  sun  and  to  the  da.wn ;  and  who 
is  the  leader  of  the  waters ;  he,  men,  is  Indra. 

“  He  to  whom  heaven  and  earth  bow  down;  he  at  whose  might 
the  mountains  are  appalled ;  he  who  is  the  drinker  of  the  Soma  juice, 
the  firm  of  frame,  the  adamant-armed,  the  wielder  of  the  thunderbolt ; 
he,  men,  is  Indra. 

“  May  we  envelop  thee  with  acceptable  praises  as  husbands  are 
embraced  by  their  wives !  ” 

The  first  verse  in  the  preceding  hymn  from  the  Rigveda 
perhaps  refers  to  Indra  as  a  sun-god,  and  to  the  rapidity  with 
which,  in  tropical  climates,  the  newly  born  sun  grows  in 
heat-giving  powers.  The  Ahi,  or  throttling  snake,  of  the 
third  verse,  is  the  same  as  the  Greek  Echidna,  or  the  Hindoo 
Vritra;  and  is  multiplied  in  the  Rakshasas — or  powers  of 
darkness — against  which  the  sky-god  Indra  wages  deadly 
war.  He  is  likewise  spoken  of  in  the  same  hymn  in  much 
the  same  kind  of  language  that  would  naturally  be  applied 
to  the  creator  and  sustainer  of  the  world.  But  so  is  almost 
every  Hindoo  deity.  Absolute  supremacy  was  attributed  to 
each  and  every  god,  whenever  it  came  to  his  turn  to  be 
praised  or  propitiated. 


SURYA 

Corresponds  to  the  Greek  Helios.  That  is,  he  was  not  so 
much  the  god  of  light  as  the  special  god  who  dwelt  in  the 
body  of  the  sun.  The  same  distinction  exists  between  Posei¬ 
don  and  Nereus;  the  one  being  the  god  of  all  waters,  and 
even  a  visitor  at  Olympus,  the  other  a  dweller  in  the  sea. 
Surya  is  described  as  the  husband  of  the  Dawn,  and  also  as 
her  son. 


SAVITAB—SOMA, 


383 


SAYITAR 

Is  another  personification  of  the  sun.  His  name  means  the 

Inciter  or  enlivener/^  and  is  derived  from  the  root  m,  to 
drive  or  stimulate.  As  the  sun-god  he  is  spoken  of  as  the 
golden-eyed,  golden-tongued,  and  golden-handed;  and  the 
Hindoo  commentators,  in  their  absurd  attempts  to  give  a 
literal  prosaic  explanation  of  a  highly  appropriate  poetic 
epithet,  say  that  Savitar  cut  off  his  hand  at  a  sacrifice, 
and  that  the  priests  gave  him  a  golden  one  instead.  Savitar 
thus  corresponds  to  the  Teutonic  god  Tyr,  whose  hand  was 
cut  off  by  the  wolf  Fenris.  Like  other  gods  in  the  Hindoo 
and  Norse  mythologies,  Savitar  is  regarded  as  all-powerful. 
That  Savitar  is  a  sun-god  appears  from  the  following  pas¬ 
sages,  among  many  others,  from  the  Rigveda  : 

Shining  forth  he  rises  from  the  lap  of  the  dawn,  praised  by 
singers;  he,  he,  my  god  Savitar,  stepped  forth,  who  never  misses 
the  same  place. 

“  He  steps  forth,  the  splendor  of  the  sky,  the  wide-seeing,  the  far- 
shining,  the  shining  wanderer ;  surely  enlivened  by  the  sun  do  men 
go  to  their  tasks,  and  do  their  work. 

May  the  golden-eyed  Savitar  arise  hither ! 

“  May  the  golden-handed,  life-bestowing,  well-guarding,  exhila¬ 
rating,  and  affluent  Savitar  be  present  at  the  sacrifice !  ” 

The  secoai  massage  seems  to  identify  Savitar  with  Odin, 
who  was  also  the  wanderer’^  —  Wegtom,  and  who  was  one- 
eyed,  as  Savitar  was  one-handed. 

SOMA. 

In  some  respects  the  myth  of  Soma  is  the  most  curious  of 
all.  Soma,  as  the  intoxicating  juice  of  the  Soma  plant,  cor¬ 
responds  to  that  mixture  of  honey  and  blood  of  the  Quoasir, 
which,  in  the  Norse  mythology,  imparts  prolonged  life  to  the 
gods.  In  the  Rigveda  the  Soma  is  similarly  described,  as 
also  the  process  by  which  it  is  converted  into  intoxicating 


384 


THE  VEDIC  GODS. 


liquid.  But  in  the  same  hymns  Soma  is  also  described  as  an 
all-powerful  god.  It  is  he  who  gives  strength  to  Indra,  and 
enables  him  to  conquer  his  enemy  Vritra,  the  snake  of  dark¬ 
ness.  He  is  further,  like  Vishnu,  Indra,  and  Varuna,  the 
supporter  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  gods  and  men^  thus 
it  would  seem  as  if  the  myth  of  the  god  Soma  is  but  an 
instance  of  that  fetishistic  stage  in  the  history  of  the  human 
kind  during  which  men  attributed  conscious  life  and  energy 
to  whatever  hurt  or  benefited  them.  The  following  passages 
from  the  Bigveda  are  adduced  to  show  in  what  terms  Soma 
was  spoken  of  as  a  god  and  as  a  mere  plant : 

‘'Where  there  is  eternal  light,  in  the  world  where  the  sun  is 
placed,  in  that  immortal,  imperishable  world,  place  me,  O  Soma 

Where  life  is  free,  in  the  third  heaven  of  heavens,  where  the 
worlds  are  radiant,  there  make  me  immortal.’' 

And  again  : 

“  In  the  filter,  which  is  the  support  of  the  world,  thou,  pure  Soma, 
art  purified  for  the  gods.  The  Usijas  first  gathered  thee.  In  thee 
all  these  worlds  are  contained. 

“The  Soma  flowed  into  the  vessel  for  Indra,  for  Vishnu;  may  it 
be  honeyed  for  Vayu !  ” 


AGNI 

Is  the  god  of  fire,  his  name  evidently  being  connected  with 
the  Latin  ignis.  He  corresponds  to  the  Greek  Hephaestus. 
Of  this  god  IMr.  ATheeler,  in  his  introduction  to  his  Histovy 
of  India,  thus  writes  :  To  man  in  a  primitive  state  of  ex¬ 
istence  the  presence  of  fire  excites  feelings  of  reverence. 
Its  powers  raise  it  to  the  rank  of  a  deity  whose  operations 
are  felt  and  seen.  It  burns  and  it  consumes.  It  dispels 
the  darkness,  and  with  it  drives  away,  not  only  the  imagi¬ 
nary  horrors  which  the  mind  associates  with  darkness,  but 
also  the  real  horrors — such  as  beasts  of  prey.  ...  It 
becomes  identified  with  the  light  of  the  sun  and  moon  • 


VAYU. 


385 


with  the  lightning  which  shoots  from  the  sky  and  shatters 
the  loftiest  trees  and  strikes  down  the  strong  man;  with  the 
deity  who  covers  the 
field  with  grain  and 
ripens  the  harvest;  with 
the  divine  messenger 
who  licks  up  the  sacri¬ 
fice  and  carries  it  to  the 
gods.^’ 

As  another  curious 
instance  of  the  sort  of 
fetishism  to  which  we 
have  referred,  the  Veda 
describes  Agni  as  being 
generated  from  the  rub¬ 
bing  of  sticks,  after 
which  he  bursts  forth 
from  the  wood  like  a  fleet  courser.  Again,  when  excited  by 
the  wind  he  rushes  amongst  the  trees  like  a  ball,  and  con¬ 
sumes  the  forest  as  a  raja  destroys  his  enemies.  Such  expres¬ 
sions,  of  course,  prove  the  purely  physical  origin  of  the  god 
Agni;  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe  that,  like  Indra, 
Varuna,  Soma,  Vishnu,  etc.,  he  is  an  all-powerful  god,  and 
supporter  of  the  universe. 


VAYU 

Is  the  god  of  the  winds,  or  of  the  air.  Allied  to  him  are 
the  Maruts— the  storm-gods  or  crushers,’’  whose  name  has 
been  derived  from  a  root  meaning  to  grind,  and  regarded  as 
connected  with  such  names  as  IVIars  and  Ares.  The  same 
root  appears  in  Miolnir,  an  epithet  of  Thor,  conceived  as  the 
crashing  or  crushing  god.  The  Maruts  are  the  Hindoo  coun¬ 
terparts  of  the  Norse  Ogres — the  fierce  storm-beings  who 
toss  the  sea  into  foam,  and  who  in  the  Norse  Tales  are  repre- 


386 


THE  VEDIC  OODS. 


sented  as  being  armed  with  iron  clubs,  at  every  stroke  of 
which  they  send  the  earth  flying  so  many  yards  into  the  air. 
The  primary  meaning  of  the  name  is  clear  from  the  Vedic 
passages  which  describe  the  Maruts  as  roaring  among  the 
forest  trees  and  tearing  up  the  clouds  for  rain. 

Among  all  the  personifications  of  Hindoo  mythology,  one 
of  the  purest  and  most  touching  and  beautiful  is 

USHAS, 

Whose  name  is  the  same  as  the  Greek  Eos — or  the  Dawn. 
The  name  Ushas  is  derived  from  a  root  us,  to  burn.  The 
language  in  which  the  physical  Ushas  was  spoken  of  was 
especially  capable  of  easy  transformation  into  a  purely  spir¬ 
itual  meaning.  The  dawn-light  is  beautiful  to  all  men,  bar¬ 
barous  or  civilized;  and  it  did  not  require  any  great  stretch 
of  poetic  fancy  to  represent  Ushas  as  a  young  wife  awaken¬ 
ing  her  children  and  giving  them  new  strength  for  the  toils 
of  the  new  day.  It  happens  that  the  word  which  in  San¬ 
scrit  means  to  awake,’’  also  means  to  know;”  and  thus, 
like  the  Greek  Athene,  Ushas  became  a  goddess  of  wisdom. 
The  following  passages  show  how  Ushas  was  regarded  by 
the  Vedic  worshippers  : 

“  Ushas,  daughter  of  heaven,  dawn  upon  us  with  riches ;  diffuser 
of  light,  dawn  upon  us  with  abundant  food  ;  beautiful  goddess,  dawn 
upon  us  with  wealth  of  cattle. 

“  This  auspicious  Ushas  has  harnessed  her  vehicles  from  afar, 
above  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  she  comes  gloriously  upon  men 
iwith  a  hundred  chariots. 

“  First  of  all  the  world  is  she  awake,  trampling  over  transitory 
darkness;  the  mighty,  the  giver  of  light,  from  on  high  she  beholds 
all  things;  ever  youthful,  ever  reviving,  she  comes  first  to  the  invo¬ 
cation.” 

Had  we  space  for  discussion  of  so  interesting  a  subject,  it 
would  be  easy  to  show  how  naturally  monotheistic  conception 
would  grow  out  of  the  polytheism  of  the  Vedic  religion. 


US  HAS. 


387 


Meantime  we  content  ourselves  with  the  following  monothe¬ 
istic  hymn,  translated  by  Max  Muller  : 

In  the  beginning  there  rose  the  source  of  golden  light.  He  was 
the  only  lord  of  all  that  is ;  he  established  this  earth  and  this  sky : 

i  who  is  the  god  to  whom  we  shall  offer  our  sacrifice  ? 

‘‘  He  who  gives  life,  he  who  gives  strength  ;  whose  blessings  all  the 
bright  gods  desire ;  whose  shadow  is  immortality ;  whose  shadow  is 
death :  who  is  the  god  to  whom  we  shall  offer  our  sacrifice? 

“  He  who  through  his  power  is  the  only  king  of  all  the  breathing 
and  awakening  world.  He  who  governs  all,  men  and  beasts :  who  is 
the  god  to  whom  we  shall  offer  our  sacrifice  ? 

He  whose  power  these  snowy  mountains,  whose  power  the  sea 
proclaims,  with  the  distant  river.  He  whose  these  regions  are  as  it 
were  his  two  arms :  who  is  the  god  to  whom  we  shall  offer  our  sacri¬ 
fice? 

I  He  through  whom  the  sky  is  bright  and  the  earth  firm.  He 

through  whom  the  heaven  was  established — nay,  the  highest  heaven  ; 
he  who  measured  out  the  light  in  the  air :  who  is  the  god  to  whom 
we  shall  offer  our  sacrifice? 

He  to  whom  heaven  and  earth,  standing  firm  by  his  will,  look 
up,  trembling,  inwardly;  he  over  whom  the  rising  sun  shines  forth; 
who  is  the  god  to  whom  we  shall  offer  our  sacrifice? 

•  •  «  ••  ••  ••••• 

May  he  not  destroy  us,  he  the  creator  of  the  earth;  or  he  the 
righteous,  who  created  heaven ;  he  who  also  created  the  bright  and 
mighty  waters:  who  is  the  god  to  whom  we  shall  offer  our  sacrifice? 

I  Murray — 28 


THE  BRAHMANIC  GODS. 


Of  the  later  Hindoo  religion  the  chief  deities  are  Brahma, 
Vishnu,  and  Siva — forming  the  Hindoo  Trinity,  or  Trimurti. 
These  are  not  regarded  as  separate,  independent  gods,  but 
merely  as  three  manifestations  or  revelations  or  phases  of  the 
spirit  or  energy  of  the  supreme  incomprehensible  being 
Brahm.  This  trinity  is  a  comparatively  late  formation. 

The  trinity  of  the  later  Yedic 
writings  is  composed,  rather,  of 
the  representative  gods  of  earth, 
air,  and  sky — Agni,  V ayu,  and 
Surya.  Again,  no  such  trinity 
as  the  Brahmanic  appears  to  be 
known  in  the  Mahabharata, 
which  represents  Brahma,  Vish¬ 
nu,  and  Indra  as  being  the 
sons  of  Mahadeva,  or  Siva. 
Perhaps,  however,  the  reason 
of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the 
mutual  jealousy  of  the  two' 
great  sects,  Vaishnavas  and 
Saivas,  into  which  the  Hindoo  religion  camo  to  be  divided. 
To  Brahm  as  the  self-existent — of  whom  there  is  no  image — 
there  existed  neither  temples  nor  altars.  As  signifying, 
among  other  things,  the  principle  of  divinity,  the  name 
Brahm  is  of  the  neuter  gender,  and  the  divine  essence  is 
described  as  that  which  illumines  all,  delights  all,  whence 
all  proceeds,  that  of  which  all  live  when  born,  and  that  to 
which  all  must  return. 

( 388 ) 


Trimurti,  or  Hindoo  Trinity. 


BRAHMA. 


389 


BRAHMA 

Is  that  member  of  the  triad  whose  name  is  best  known  to 
us,  and  most  familiar  to  the  Hindoos  themselves.  Images 
of  him  are  found  in  the  temples  of  other  gods,  but  he 
has  neither  temples  nor  altars  of  his  own.  The  reason 
of  this  is  that  Brahma,  as  the  creative  energy,  is  quiescent, 
and  will  remain  so  until  the  end  of  the  present  age  of  the 
world — of  the  Kali  Yuga,  that  is — only  a  small  portion  of 
whose  432,000  years  has  already  passed. 


Brahma  and  Saraswati. 


It  appears,  however,  that  an  attempt  was  made  to  repre- 
sent  even  the  divine  spirit  of  Brahm;  for  the  god  ISTarayana 
means  the  spirit  moving  on  the  waters.  Narayana  is  figured 
as  a  graceful  youth  lying  on  a  snake  couch  which  floats  on 
the  water,  and  holding  his  toe  in  his  mouth. 

Brahma  is  figured  as  a  four-headed  god,  bearing  in  one 
hand  a  copy  of  the  Vedas,  in  another  a  spoon  for  pouring 
out  the  lustral  water  contained  in  a  vessel  which  he  holds  in 
a  third  hand,  while  the  fourth  hand  holds  a  rosary.  The 
rosary  was  used  by  the  Hindoos  to  aid  them  in  contempla¬ 
tion,  a  bead  being  dropped  on  the  silent  pronunciation  of 


390 


THE  BRAHMANIC  GODS. 


each  name  of  the  god,  while  the  devotee  mused  on  the  attri¬ 
bute  signified  by  the  name. 

Brahma,  like  each  god,  had  his  sacti^  or  wife,  or  female 
counterpart,  and  his  vahana  or  vehicle,  whereon  he  rode. 
Brahma’s  sacti  is  Saraswati,  the  goddess  of  poetry,  wis¬ 
dom,  eloquence,  and  fine  art.  His  vahana  was  the  goose — 
hansa — in  Latin,  anser,  in  German,  gans. 


VISHNU 


I'i 

(3 

u 

trig! 

hiQ 


a 

k 

fra 

Z9 


U0 

CD 


I 

(VS 


Is  the  personification  of  the  preserving  power  of  the  divine 
spirit.  The  Vaishnavas  allege  that  Vishnu  is  the  paramount 
god,  because  there  is  nothing  distinctive  in  the  act  of  anni¬ 
hilation,  but  only  a  cessation  of  preservation.  But  of  course 


the  argument  would  cut  all  three  ways,  for  it  might  as  well 
be  said  that  creation,  preservation,  and  destruction  are  at 
bottom  only  one  and  the  same  thing — a  fact  thus  pointing  to 
the  unity  of  God.  Of  the  two  Hindoo  sects  the  Vaishnavas 
are  perhaps  the  more  numerous.  Vishnu  is  represented  as 
being  of  a  blue  color;  his  vahana  is  Garuda,  the  winged  half- 


SIVA. 


m 


man,  half-bird,  king  of  birds,  and  his  sactij  or  wife,  is  the 
goddess  Lakshmi.  He  is  said  to  have  four  hands — one 
holding  a  shanhha,  or  shell,  the  second  a  chakra  or  quoit, 
the  third  a  club,  and  the  fourth  a  lotus.  Our  illustration 
represents  Vishnu  lying  asleep  on  Ananta,  the  serpent  of 
eternity.  At  the  end  of  the  Kali  Yuga  Vishnu  will  rest  in 
that  position  ;  from  his  navel  will  spring  a  lotus  stalk,  on  the 
top  of  which — above  the  surface  of  the  waters,  which  at  that 
time  will  cover  the  world — Brahma  will  appear  to  create  the 
earth  anew. 

SIVA 

Is  the  destroyer — the  third  phase  of  Brahm’s  energy.  He 
is  represented  as  of  a  white  color.  His  sacti  is  Bhavani  or 
Pracriti,  the  terrible 
Doorga  or  Kali,  and 
his  vahana  a  white 
bull.  Sometimes  Siva 
is  figured  with  a  tri¬ 
dent  in  one  hand,  and 
in  another  a  rope  or 
pasha,  with  which  he 
or  his  wife  Kali  stran¬ 
gles  evil-doers.  His 
necklace  is  made  of 
human  skulls ;  ser¬ 
pents  are  his  ear-rings; 
his  loins  are  wrapped 
in  tigePs  skin;  and 
from  his  head  the 
sacred  river  Ganga  is 
represented  as  spring- 

ing. 

Among  the  minor  deities  may  be  mentioned  Kuvera,  the 
god  of  riches;  Lakshmi,  being  the  goddess  of  wealth;  Kam- 


392 


THE  BRAHMANIO  GODS. 


adeva,  the  god  of  love,  who  is  represented  as  riding  on  a 
dove  and  armed  with  an  arrow  of  flowers,  and  a  bow  whose 
string  is  formed  of  bees;  and  thirdly,  Ganesha,  the  son  of 

Siva  and  Prithivi,  who  is  regarded 
as  the  wisest  of  all  the  gods,  is 
especially  the  god  of  prudence  and 
policy,  and  is  invoked  at  the  open¬ 
ing  of  Hindoo  literary  works. 

• 

AYATAKS  OF  YISHNU. 

The  word  avatar  means,  in  its 
plain  sense,  Descent — that  is,  from 
the  world  of  the  gods  to  the  world 
of  men.  In  these  descents,  or  in¬ 
carnations,  the  purpose  of  Yishnu 
has  always  been  a  beneficent  one. 
His  first  avatar  is  named  Matsya, 
wherein,  djaring  the  reign  of  King  Satyavrata,  Yishnu  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  form  of  a  fish.  For  the  world  had  been 
deluged  by  water  for  its  wickedness,  and  its  inhabitants 
had  perished,  except  the  king  and  seven  sages,  with  their 
families,  who  together  with  pairs  of  all  species  of  animals, 
entered  into  an  ark  prepared  for  them,  and  of  which  the  fish 
took  care,  by  having  its  cable  tied  to  its  horn.  In  the  second, 
or  Kurma  avatar,  Yishnu  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  tortoise, 
supporting  Mount  Mandara  on  his  back,  while  the  gods 
churned  the  sea  for  the  divine  ambrosia.  In  the  Varaha,  or 
third  avatar,  Yishnu  appeared  as  a  boar  to  save  the  earth 
when  it  had  been  drowned  a  second  time.  The  boar  went 
into  the  sea  and  fished  the  earth  out  on  his  tusks.  In  the 
fourth  he  appeared  as  Narasingha,  the  man- lion,  to  free  the 
world  from  a  monarch  who,  for  his  austerities,  had  been 
endowed  by  t'ne  gods  with  universal  dominion.  In  this 
shape  Yishnu  tore  the  king  to  pieces.  Subsequently  he 


Kamadeva. 


AVATARS  OF  VISHNU. 


393 


appeared  as  a  dwarf,  then  as  Rama,  the  hero  of  the  Rama- 
yana,  who  likewise  was  a  beneficent  being.  His  chief  incar¬ 
nation  appears  in  Krishna,  the 
god  who  is  most  loved  by  the 
Hindoos.  Buddha,  the  founder 
of  the  Buddhist  religion,  was 
also  said  to  be  an  incarnation  of 
Vishnu.  Nine  of  these  avatars 
have  already  passed.  In  the 
tenth,  or  Kalki  Avatara,  he 
will  appear  armed  with  a  scim¬ 
itar,  and  riding  on  a  white  horse, 
when  he  will  end  the  present 
age  ;  after  which  he  will  sleep 
on  the  waters,  produce  Prama,  and  so  inaugurate  a  new 
world. 


THE  MYTHOLOGY  AND  EELIGION  OF 

EGYPT. 


Egyptian  myths  undoubtedly  originated  and  were  devel¬ 
oped  similarly  to  the  myths  of  all  other  nations  with  which 
we  are  acquainted.  Yet  an  indication  of  the  various  stages 
of  that  development,  and  an  understanding  of  the  system  as 
a  whole  and  as  it  is  now  known  to  us,  are  far  more  difficult 
in  the  case  of  Egyptian  than  of  Greek,  Norse,  Germanic, 
or  Hindoo  mythology.  The  reason  of  this  is  very  evident. 
The  Egyptian  religion  seems  to  have  reached  its  abstract  or 
metaphysical  stage  long  before  any  of  the  religions  to  which 
we  have  referred;  and  as  its  records  belong  wholly  to  that 
stage,  there  are  no  means  of  enabling  the  student  to  bridge 
over  the  gap  between  its  earliest  and  its  latest  formations. 

Indeed,  it  would  appear  as  if  precisely  the  same  kind  of 
differences  existed  between  the  Egyptian  and  the  Greek 
genius  as  between  the  Greek  genius  and  that  of  the  Hindoos. 
The  temperament  of  the  Greek  was  open,  joyous,  sensuous; 
that  of  the  other  two  races  was  self-repressive,  brooding,  and 
mystical.  The  bias  or  mental  bent  of  these  was  not  so  much 
toward  what  was  artistically  or  logically  preventable,  as 
toward  the  elusive,  mysterious  spirit  of  which  they  imagined 
all  things  visible  and  tangible  to  be  merely  the  veil.  The 
Greek  was  artistically  sensuous;  the  Hindoo  was  mystically 
religious.  Or,  the  difference  between  them  may  be  said  to 
resemble  that  between  form  and  color.  The  contrast  in  intel¬ 
lectual  bias  between  the  Egyptians  and  their  adversaries,  the 
Greeks,  is  sufficiently  indicated  in  what  Herodotus  says  of 
the  Egyptian  contempt  for  the  claims  made  by  the  Greeks  of 
(  394) 


THE  MYTHOLOGY  AND  RELIGION  OF  EGYPT.  395 

descent  from  the  gods.  The  priests  of  Egypt  eould  only 
laugh  at  the  absurdity  of  the  belief  according  to  which  a  god 
was  said  to  be  the  sixteenth  ancestor  of  Hecataeos.  Our 
gods,  said  they,  never  lived  on  earth. 

However,  it  appears  as  if  a  comparison  of  it  with  other 
systems  shows  that  the  mythology  of  Egypt  is,  in  great  meas¬ 
ure  at  least,  explicable  by  the  general  doctrines  implied  in 
tbe  title  Solar  Myth.^^  Even  that  very  readiness  with 
which  the  Greeks  identified  the  Egyptian  gods  with  their 
own  affords,  if  not  proof,  at  all  events  some  countenance,  to 
the  supposition  that  both  Pantheons  were,  so  to  speak,  peo¬ 
pled  after  the  same  manner.  Again,  the  functions  and  char¬ 
acters  of  the  Egyptian  gods  interchange  like  those  of  the 
Greek  and  Norse  gods.  Their  names  have  in  both  cases 
similar  physical  meanings.  In  both  cases  also  the  birth  and 
genealogy  of  the  gods  appear  to  be  but  an  expression  of  phys¬ 
ical,  visible  sequences.  We  find  in  both  cases  the  same  con¬ 
fusion,  or  identity,  between  a  god^s  mother  and  his  sister; 
and  what  appears  to  be  the  same  conflict  between  the  light¬ 
giving  and  the  light-stealing  powers  of  nature.  The  old  Ger¬ 
man  religion  is,  perhaps,  of  a  more  spiritual  charaeter  than 
that  of  Egypt.  Yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  idea  of  the 
contest  between  the  purely  spiritual  powers  Ormuzd  and 
Ahriman  was  originally  only  the  idea  of  the  contest  between 
the  sunlight,  Indra,  and  the  clouds  or  darkness,  Yritra.  This 
seems  a  strong  indirect  proof  that  Osiris  and  Typho  are  the 
same  as  Indra  and  Vritra.  The  idea  of  dynastic  overthrow 
and  succession  common  to  the  Aryan  religions,  and  presented 
with  such  weird  and  pathetic  grandeur  in  Norse  mythology, 
is,  if  at  all,  but  faintly  defined  in  the  religion  of  Egypt. 
Yet  it  seems  to  be  implied  in  such  phrases  as  Osirian  divin¬ 
ities,’’  and  ''  three  orders  of  the  gods.”  Lastly,  it  appears 
that  many  of  the  Egyptian  deities  are  only  personified  attri¬ 
butes  of  one  and  the  same  thing  or  person. 

The  great  gods  of  Egypt  were  Neph,  Amun,  Pthah, 
Khem,  Sati,  Maut,  and  Bubastis. 


396  the  mythology  and  religion  of  EGYPT. 

NEPH 

Is  also  named  Num,  Nu,  Nef,  Cnouphis,  and  Cenubis.  Now 
Nef  means  spirit  or  breath,  in  which  sense  it  is  still  retained 


in  Arabic.  He  is  the  spirit  of 
God  moving  on  the  face  of  the 
waters.’^  Therefore,  in  this  special, 
physical  sense  Neph  corresponds  to 
the  Teutonic  Woden,  or  Wuotan, 
as  also  Brahma  and  Zeus.  Neph 
was  worshipped  in  Aethiopia  and  the 
Thebais.  He  is  represented  as  hav¬ 
ing  a  ram’s  head  with  curved  horns. 
His  wife,  or  in  Hindoo  phraseology 
sacti,  was  named  Auka. 

PTHAH 

Is  only  Neph  under  a  new  name;  or, 
to  express  it  otherwise,  he  represents 
a  special  energy  of  that  god.  He  is 
the  creator,  or  the  universal  life  in 
action.  Jamblichus  calls  him  the 
demiourgos,  or  artisan  of  the  world; 
and  the  Greeks  regarded  him  as  the 
counterpart  of  their  own  artisan 
god,  Hephaestus  or  V ulcan.  As 
the  creator  he  was  thought  of  as 
the  father  and  sovereign  of  the 
gods.  He  was  worshipped  chiefly 
in  Memphis.  He  appears  as  a 
mummy-shaped  male  figure;  also 
as  the  pigmy-god. 


Pthah. 


KBEM. 


397 


KHEM, 

Like  the  former  god,  is  only  a  special  energy  or  activity  of 
the  universal  life.  He  is  a  personified  attribute,  or  epithet. 


Amun. 


He  is 
tified 


the 

as 


god 

Pan 


of  generation  and  reproduction,  and  was  iden- 
by  the  Greeks,  who  called  his  chief  oity 


398  the  mythology  and  RELIGION  OF  EGYPT. 


Chemmis,  in  the  Thebais — by  the  name  of  Panopolis.  But 
Khem  not  only  merges  into  the  god  Num  or  Neph,  he  also 
usurps  the  functions  of,  or  is  the  same  as,  the  garden-god 
Ranno.  It  was  but  natural  that  the  god  of  reproduction 
should  also  be  a  garden-god.  This  garden-god,  Ranno,  was 
represented  under  the  form  of  an  asp,  whose  figure  is  found 
on  wine-presses  and  garden  and  agricultural  implements.  It 
should  here  be  observed  that  Priapus,  the  classical  counter¬ 
part  of  the  procreative  Khem,  was  the  tutelary  deity  of 
gardens. 


AMUN 

Was  the  chief  god  of  Upper  Egypt.  From  the  significa¬ 
tion  of  the  name — hidden’’ — it  would  appear  that  Amun 
was  a  deity  of  a  highly  spiritual  character.  As  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  instances,  he  is  identified  or  connected  with  various 
other  gods,  e.g,,  he  is  named  as  Amun-ra  (Ra  being  the  sun- 
god),  and  Amun-num  (Num,  the  living  breath  or  spirit). 
His  companion  goddess  was  Mut  or  Maut;  and  the  two 
deities,  with  their  son  Khuns,  formed  the  Trinity  of  Upper 
Egypt. 

SATI 

The  Greeks  imagined  to  be  the  same  as  Hera.  As  such  she 
would  be  the  queen  of  heaven;  but  a  distinction  was  made 
between  her  and 


NEITH, 

Who  was  said  to  be  the  goddess  of  the  upper  heaven  (or 
ether),  whereas  Sati  was  the  goddess  of  the  lower  heaven  (or 
air).  If  Neith  be  a  sky-deity,  and  if  she  be  also  the  mother 
of  the  sun-god,  the  facts  are  another  instance  from  Egyptian 
mythology  of  that  same  process  through  which  the  Greeks 


MA  UT—B  UBASTIS—BA. 


399 


peopled  their  Olympus  and  the  Norsemen  their  Asgard. 
But  further,  the  functions  attributed  to  Neith  seem  to  show 
that  the  idea  of  this  goddess  was  developed  much  in  the 
same  way  as  that  of  the  Greek  Athene.  As  Athene  in 
Greek,  and  Ahana  in  Sanscrit,  meant  originally  the  light  of 
the  dawn,  and  finally,  moral  and  intellectual  light,  so  we  find 
that  Neith  also  came  to  be  a  deity  of  wisdom.  This  goddess 
was  worshipped  especially  at  Sais  in  the  Nile  delta. 


MAUT, 

To  whom  we  have  already  referred  as  the  second  person  of 
the  Theban  Trinitv,  meant  the  Mother— Mother  Nature— and 
thus  corresponded  to  the  Greek  Demeter. 


BUBASTIS 

Was  chiefly  worshipped  in  the  town  of  Bubastus  in  Lower 
Egypt.  She  was  said  to  be  the  daughter  of  the  great  god¬ 
dess  Isis.  She  was  represented  with  the  head  of  a  cat,  the 
animal  specially  sacred  to  her. 


RA 

Comes  first  in  the  second  class  of  deities.  The  Greeks  iden¬ 
tified  him  with  their  own  sun-god,  Helios,  and  called  the  city 
in  which  he  was  principally  worshipped  Heliopolis.  He  is 
represented  with  a  hawk’s  head,  over  which  is  a  solar  disc. 
His  purely  physical  origin  seems  to  be  proved  by  the  myths 
that  Neith,  or  the  upper  air,  was  his  mother;  and  that  he 
married  Mut  (Demeter),  this  merely  signifying  the  interac¬ 
tion  of  earth  and  sunlight  in  producing  vegetation.  But 
again,  Ha  was  said  to  have  for  children  Athor,  Mu,  and 


400  the  MY-THOLOGY  and  religion  of  EGYPT. 

Mat.  Atlior  was  identified  with  Aphrodite,  who  was  orig¬ 
inally  the  goddess  of  light;  while  Mu  means  physical  light, 
and  Mat  moral  light.  Precisely  the  same  transition  in  mean¬ 
ing  happens  in  the  story  of  Neith,  and  in  that  of  Athene, 
Ahana,  Ushas,  and  Eos.  The  wide  prevalence  of  this  god^s 
worship  shows  in  what  importance  he  was  held,  an  impor¬ 
tance  naturally  attaching  to  the  sun-god  among  all  nations 
given  to  elemental  worship.  From  Pa,  with  the  prefixed 
syllable  Pi,  was  derived  the  name  Phrah,  or,  in  Old  Testament 
spelling.  Pharaoh.  Every  Pharaoh  was  thus  entitled  son  of 
the  sun.  All  this  suggests  that  Sabaeism,  or  fir^- worship,  was 
originally  practised  in  Egypt.  Pa  is  also  identical  with  Baal, 
a  name  implying  lord,^^  and  applied  to  the  sun.  Baalbeck 
means  city  of  the  sun,^^  and  was  so  named  by  the  Greeks 
— Heliopolis. 

SEB 

Is  said  to  be  the  son  of  Pa.  He  is  a  sort  of  Egyptian 
Cronus,  being  represented  in  the  hieroglyphics  to  be  the 
father  of  the  gods.  Here  again  we  have  an  interchange  of 
functions;  for  it  has  been  seen  that  Neph,  Pthah,  etc.,  have 
been  similarly  described.  Also,  like  other  gods  in  and  out 
of  Greek  mythology,  Seb  marries  his  own  sister,  Nutpe. 
These  two  were  at  the  head  of  the  Osirian  divinities’^ —  ^ 

Osiris,  Isis,  Seth,  Nephthys.  Nutpe  or  Nepte  has  been  iden¬ 
tified  with  Phea.  She  is  supposed  to  coincide  with  Lucina, 
and  to  preside  over  births  and  nursing.  As  being  the 
mother  of  Isis  and  Osiris,  she  was  called  the  mother  of  the 
gods. 

OSIPIS, 

The  great  deity  of  the  Egyptians,  has  been  by  some  iden¬ 
tified  with  the  sun,  or  sunlight,  or  the  vivifying  powers  in 
oature,  According  to  this  view  the  sleep  or  death  of  Osiris 


OSIRIS. 


401 


means  the  sleep  of  the  spring-maiden  Brynhild,  or  the  im¬ 
prisonment  of  Persephone  in  the  dark  realm  of  Hades.  His 
contest  with  Seb  (by  the  Greeks  called  Typho)  would  cer¬ 
tainly  seem  to  be  another  instance 
of  the  plausibility,  at  least,  of  this 
view.  At  any  rate,  Osiris,  being 
restored  to  life,  became  the  judge 
of  the  under-world.  There  he 
listens  to  Thoth’s  tale  of  the  char¬ 
acter  of  the  disembodied  souls,  who 
are  introduced  to  the  judge  by 
Horus  (the  son  of  Osiris),  after 
their  good  and  bad  deeds  have  been 
weighed  by  Anubis  in  the  scale  of 
truth. 

These  trials  in  the  under-world 
were  attended  by  forty  officers, 
called  Assessors  of  the  Dead,  who 
are  thus  described  by  Gardner  Wil¬ 
kinson  :  ^  ^  These  assessors  were  sim¬ 
ilar  to  the  bench  of  judges  who 
attended  at  the  ordinary  tribunals  of 
the  Egyptians,  and  whose  president,  or  arch-judge,  corre¬ 
sponded  to  Osiris.  The  assessors  were  represented  in  a 
human  form  with  different  heads.  The  first  had  the  head 
of  a  hawk,  the  second  of  a  man,  the  third  of  a  hare,  the 
fourth  of  a  hippotamus,  the  fifth  of  a  man,  the  sixth  of  a 
hawk,  the  seventh  of  a  fox,  the  eighth  of  a  man,  the  ninth  of 
a  ram,  the  tenth  of  a  snake,  and  the  others  according  to  their 
peculiar  character.  .  .  .  They  are  supposed  to  represent 

the  forty-two  crimes  from  which  a  virtuous  man  was  ex¬ 
pected  to  be  free  when  judged  in  a  future  state;  or  rather 
the  accusing  spirits,  each  of  whom  examined  if  the  deceased 
was  guilty  of  the  peculiar  evil  which  it  was  his  province  to 

avenge.’^ 

The  worship  of  Osiris  was  universal  throughout  Egypt, 


Osiris. 


402  the  mythology  and  religion  of  EGYPf. 


where  he  was  gratefully  regarded  as  the  great  example  of 
self-sacrifice,  as  the  manifester  of  good,  as  the  opener  of 

truth,  and  as  being  full 
of  goodness  and  truth. 
As  Osiris  was  the  per¬ 
sonification  of  physical 
and  moral  good,  so  his 
brother  Seb  (Typho) 
was  the  personification 
of  all  evil.  Of  the  an¬ 
alogy  between  these  two 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
old  Persian  deities  of 
good  and  evil,  we  have 
already  spoken. 

Another  explanation 
of  the  Osirian  myth  has 
thus  been  given  :  Osiris 
was  the  Nile  god.  The 
river,  in  its  periodical 
inundations,  was  said  to 
have  married  the  earth 
(Isis,  Rhea),  and  in  its 
retreat  to  have  been 
killed  by  the  giant  of 
Sterility  (Seb,  or  Ty- 
phon),  who  was  jealous, 
perhaps,  of  the  won¬ 
drous  fruitfulness  of  the 
marriage  between  the 
soil  and  the  great  river. 


Osiris. 

bull  was  known  as  Apis  at 


APIS 

Was  the  great  beast-god 
of  Egypt.  This  sacred 
Memphis,  and  as  Mnevis,  or 


APIS. 


403 


Onuphis,  at  Heliopolis.  His  worship  was  so  prevalent  and 
popular,  because  he  was  regarded  as  an  avatar,  or  incarna¬ 
tion,  of  the  favorite  deity  Osiris,  whose  soul  had  transmigrated 
into  the  body  of  a  bull.  The  sacred  bull  was  allowed  to 
live  for  no  more  than  twenty-five  years,  at  the  end  of  which  it 
was  taken  to  the  Nile,  and  drowned  in  one  of  the  sacred  wells. 
His  death  was  followed  by  national  mournings,  which,  how¬ 
ever,  gave  place  to  national  thanksgivings,  as  soon  as  a  new 
Avatar,  or  sacred  bull,  discovered  himself  by  the  following 


Procession  of  the  Royal  Bull,  Apis. 


marks  :  a  black  coat,  a  white  triangular  spot  on  the  forehead, 
a  spot  like  a  half-moon  on  its  right  side,  and  under  its  tongue 
a  knot  like  a  beetle.  The  following  quotations  from  Aelian, 
as  o-iven  in  Wilkinson,  narrate  the  ceremonies  consequent  on 
the  rediscovery  of  Osiris  : 

^^As  soon  as  a  report  is  circulated  that  the  Egyptian  god 
has  manifested  himself,  certain  of  the  sacred  scribes,  well 
versed  in  the  mythical  marks,  known  to  them  by  tradition, 
approach  the  spot  where  the  divine  cow  has  deposited  her 

Murray— -29 


404  the  mythology  and  religion  of  EGYPT. 

calf,  and  there,  following  the  ancient  ordinance  of  Hermes, 
feed  it  with  milk  during  four  months,  in  a  house  facing  the 
rising  sun.  When  this  period  has  passed  the  sacred  scribes 
and  prophets  resort  to  the  dwelling  of  Apis,  at  the  time  of 
the  new  moon,  and  placing  him  in  a  boat  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  eonvey  him  to  Memphis,  where  he  has  a  convenient 
and  agreeable  abode,  with  pleasure  grounds  and  ample  space 
for  wholesome  exercise.  Female  companions  of  his  own 
species  are  provided  for  him,  the  most  beautiful  that  can  be 

found,  kept  in  apartments  to  which  he 
has  access  when  he  wishes.  He  drinks 
out  of  a  well,  or  fountain  of  clear  water : 
for  it  is  not  thought  right  to  give  him 
the  water  of  the  Nile,  which  is  con¬ 
sidered  too  fattening.  .  .  .  The 

man  from  whose  herd  the  divine  beast 
has  sprung  is  the  happiest  of  mortals, 
and  is  looked  upon  with  admiration  by 
all  people.^^  Cambyses,  it  is  said,  found 
a  set  of  villagers  rejoicing  over  a  new 
sacred  bull,  and  fancying  they  were 
making  merry  over  his  recent  defeat  in 
Aethiopia,  the  king  of  kings  at  once  ran 
the  bull  through  the  body  and  had  the 
priests  flogged.  It  was  considered  a 
good  omen  if  the  bull  ate  food  offered 
to  it.  Men  also  listened  at  the  ears  of 
Apis,  then  put  their  hands  to  their 
own  ears  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the 
secret,  which  they  interpreted  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
first  words  they  chanced  to  hear  uttered. 

SERAPIS 

Was  another  name  of  Osiris,  although  the  Greeks  said  that 
his  worship  was  not  known  in  Egypt  until  the  time  of 


ISIS. 


405 


Ptolemy  Ptiiladelplius,  when  it  was  introduced  from  Sinope, 
under  the  name  of  Serapis.  Serapis  was  known  as  the  judge 
of  the  under- world. 


ISIS 

Was  the  wife  of  Osiris,  also  a  counterpart  of  him;  for,  as 
he  was  judge  of  the  dead,  so  she  is  described  as  the  giver 
of  death.  She  is  identified  with  Ceres  and  Persephone,  and, 
in  this  view,  the  grief  of  Isis  for  her  husband  may  be  regarded 
as  an  Egyptian  version  of  the  myth  representing  Demeter  as 
mourning  for  the  loss  of  her  daughter.  A-puleius  makes  her 
declare  :  I  am  nature,  the  parent  of  all  the  gods,  mistress 
of  all  the  elements,  the  beginning  of  all  the  ages,  sovereign 
of  the  gods,  queen  of  the  manes,  and  the  first  of  the  heavenly 
beings. But  as  the  mother  of  all  she  is  convertible  with 
Mat  and  Nutpe.  And  then  Apuleius  proceeds;  ''My 


406  the  mythology  and  religion  of  EGYPT 


divinity,  uniform  in  itself,  is  honored  under  numet’ous  forms, 
various  rites,  and  different  names.  .  .  .  but  the  sun- 

illumed  Aethiopians,  and  the  Egyptians  renowned  for  ancient 


Isis. 


lore,  worship  me  with  due  ceremonies,  and  call  me  by  my 
real  name,  ‘  Queen  Isis.^  Plutarch  considers  Isis  to  be 
the  earth,  the  feminine  part  of  nature,  while  Diodorus  says 
that  the  Egyptians,  considering  the  earth  to  be  the  parent  of 


ANUBIS. 


407 


all  things  born,  called  her  Mother,  just  as  the  Greeks  called 
earth  Demeter. 


ANUBIS, 

With  Hor,  or  Horus,  and  Har-pi-chruti,  or  Harpocrates, 
were  the  children  of  Osiris  and  Isis.  The  first  was  a  jackal¬ 
headed  god;  and,  according  to  another  myth,  was  the  son  of 
^Osiris  and  Nephthys,  a  sister  of  Isis,  who,  fearing  the  jeal¬ 
ousy  of  Isis,  concealed  the  child  by  the  seashore.  The  office 
of  Anubis  was  to  superintend  the  passage  of  souls  to  their 
abode  in  the  unseen  world.  As  such  he  corresponded  to  the 
Greek  Hermes  Psychopompos.  Anubis  presided  over  tombs; 
and  he  is  frequently  introduced  in 
sculpture  as  standing  over  a  bier  on 
which  a  corpse  is  deposited.  Horus 
was  a  hawk-headed  god.  As  the 
avenger  -of  his  father  Osiris,  who 
was  slain  by  Typhon,  he  was  identi¬ 
fied  by  the  Greeks  as  Apollo.  He 
also  corresponded  in  some  degree  to 
the  sun-god  Ka,  and  was  worshipped 
by  the  Egyptians  as  representing  the 
vivifying  power  of  the  sun.  Har¬ 
pocrates  seems  to  be  merely  another 
version  of  Horus — he  is  a  personi¬ 
fication  of  the  sun.  He  is  repre¬ 
sented  as  a  child  sitting  on  a  lotus 
flower,  with  his  finger  on  his  lips. 

Under  this  figure  he  was  thought  of 
as  the  god  of  silence.  Perhaps  in 
placing  a  representation  of  him  in 
front  of  each  of  their  temples,  the  wise  Egyptians  meant  to 
symbolize  the  fact  that  worship  ought  to  be  conducted  with 
silence. 


408  the  mythology  AND  RELIGION  OF  EGYPT, 


THOTH 


Was  the  god  of  letters,  the  clerk  of  the  under-world,  and 
the  keeper  of  the  records  for  the  great  judge  Osiris.  He  is 
represented  with  the  head  of  an  ibis,  and  bearing  a  tablet, 
pen,  and  palm-branch.  So  great  was  the  respect  in  which 
the  sacred  ibis  was  held — on  account,  no  doubt,  of  its  useful¬ 
ness  in  destroying  venomous  reptiles — that  any  one  guilty  of 
killing  it  was  himself  punished  with  death. 


ANOUKE 


Was  the  third  member  of  the  trinity  of  Northern  Aethiopia, 
the  other  two  members  being  Sati  and  Neph. 


THE  SPHINX, 


Unlike  her  Greek  representative — who  was  a  cruel  monster 


3  born  of  the  evil  powers  Typhon  and  Echidna — was  a  benefi¬ 
ts  cent  being  who  personified  the  fruit-bearing  earth,  and,  like 

the  sun  and  sky  powers  we  have  named  above,  was  a  deity 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge.  Her  figure — lion-bodied,  with 


the  head  and  breast  of  a  woman — was  placed  before  every 
temple.  The  Egyptian  Cerberus,  or  hell  watch-dog,  must 


have  been  a  more  forbidding  and  strange-looking  animal 


than  his  Greek  brother.  He  had  the  trunk  and  legs  of  a 
hippopotamus,  with  the  head  of  a  crocodile. 


IlSTDEX 


Abas.  241,  242 
Abas,  Mount,  293 
Abdera,  291 ,  292 
Abderus,  291 
Absyrtus,  314 
Achaea,  55 
Achaeans,  234,  272 
Achaia  288 

Acheloides  (Sirens),  165 
Achelous,  165,  168,  300 
Acheron,  60 

Achilles,  61,  87,  90,  162,  177,  188, 
200,  231,  264,  288,  298,  330,  331, 
332,  334,  336,  338,  339,  340,  341, 

QIO  QAQ  Q44 

Acrisms,  242,  243,  246,  247 
Acrocorinth  (see  also  Corinth),  249 
Acropolis,  52,  94,  98,  103,  110,  123, 
271 

Actaea,  163 
Actaeon,  120,  127 
Admete,  292 

Admetus,  114,  298,  308,  310 

Adonai,  92 

Adonais,  92 

Adonis,  92,  94,  366 

Adrastea  (see  also  Nemesis),  29,  213 

Adrastus,  317,  318,  322 

Adriatic,  294 

Aeacus,  64 

Aegae,  55 

Aeetes,  313,  314 

Aegaeon,  49 

Aegean,  112,  332 

Aegeus,  272,  276,  302,  303,  304,  305, 
315 

Aegina,  53,  77,  90,  91,  141,  249 
Aegipanes,  151 

Aegle  (see  also  Hesperides),  117, 175 
Aegisthus,  280,  348,  349 
Aegyptus,  240,  241 
Aello  (see  also  Harpies),  218 


Aeolians,  234 

Aeolus,  182,  183,  223,  309,  310,  352 
Aeneas,  92,  102,  328,  347 
Aerope.  279 

Aeschylus,  1,  13,  74,  262,  294,  375 
Aesculapius,  111,  114,  203,  204,  205, 
206,  207,  264,  345 
Aesir,  358,  360 
Aeson,  309,  310 
Aether,  20,  221 

Aethiopia,  188,  245,  396,  404,  406, 
408 

Aethon,  71,  117 
Aethra,  171,  302,  328 
Aetna,  26,  37,  65,  89 
Aetnaeus,  37 
Aetolians,  120 
Agamede,  289,  290 
Agamemnon,  120,  216,  280,  326,  328, 
329,  332,  333,  334,  336,  337,  338, 
339,  342,  346,  347,  348,  349,  350 
Aganippe  (see  also  Muses),  175,  176 
Agathodaemon,  225 
Agave,  257,  258 
Agenor,  129,  240,  255,  274 
Aglaea,  198 
Agni,  384,  385,  388 
Agraulos,  270,  271 
Agrigen  turn,  276 
Agrotera,  120 
Ahana,  399,  400 
Ahi,_  382 
Ahriman,  395 

Aides  (see  also  Hades),  58,  65 

Ajax,  231,  298,  337,  341,  343,  344 

Alarm  (see  also  Deimos),  83 

Alcaeus,  248 

Alcamenes,  84 

Alcestis,  225,  298 

Alcimede,  309 

Alcmaeon,  318 

Alcmene,  40,  50,  248,  282 

(  409  )  ' 


410 


INDEX. 


Alcinous,  353 
Alcippe,  270 
Alcyoneus,  44 

Alecto  (see  also  Erinys),  27,  217 
Alexander  (see  also  Paris),  324 
Alexander  the  Great,  126 
Alfen,  370 
Alfheimr,  370 

All-father,  360,  .361,  362,  363 
Aloeus,  82,  238 

Alpheus  (see  Arethusa),  123, 168 
Alseides  (Nymphs),  170 
Althaea,  197,  307,  308,  309 
Amalthea,  29 
Amarynthia,  123 

Amazons,  253,  292,  296,  306,  341, 
342,  343 

Ammon  (oracle',  245 
Ambracia,  294 

Amor,  (see  also  Eros),  92.  94,  189 
Amorettes,  194 
Amphianax,  242 
Amphiaraus,  298,  318,  320,  322 
Amphion,  137,  258,  259,  260,  261, 
282 

Amphitrite,  24,  57,  76,  163,  164 
Amphitryon,  248,  282,  283 
Amun,  395,  397,  398 
Amun-num,  398 
Amun-ra,  398 
Amyclae,  106,  326,  328 
Amyclas,  107 
Amy  CHS,  312 

Amymone,  53,  240,  241,  286 
Anadyomene,  91 
Ananke  (see  also  Fate  ,  210 
Ananta,  391 
Ancaeus,  308 
Anchinoe,  240 
Anchises,  92,  326,  347 
Androgeos,  276 
Andromache,  339,  340,  347 
Andromeda,  53,  245,  246,  248 
Anouke,  408 

Antaeus,  54,  294,  295,  298 
Anteia,  252 
Anteros,  94,  194 
Anthesteria,  131 

Antigone,  262,  318,  319,  320,  323 

Antiope,  258,  260,  306 

Antium,  204,  209 

Anubis,  401,  407 

Aoede,  177 

Apaturia,  88 


Apeliotes,  184 
Apelles,  1 

Aphrodite  (see  also  Venus),  9,  15, 

23,  24,  40,  83,  87,  89,  90,  91,  92, 
93,  94,  105,  136,  143,  148,  162, 
171,  188,  190,  192,  194,  195,  197, 
198,  199,  201,  214,  236,  257,  312, 
326,  328,  400 

Apis,  402,  403,  404 
Apollinarian  games,  114 
Apollo  (see  also  Phoebus  Apollo ; 
Helios,  and  Sol),  9,  13,  14,  18,  23, 

24,  40,  44,  53,  54,  63,  104,  105, 
106,  107,  108,  109,  111,112,  114, 
115,  118,  122,  123,  135,  136,  140, 
143,  148,  149,  151,  169, 170,  177, 
181,  195,  199,  201,  203,  204,  207, 
217,  229,  238,  243,  258,  261,  266, 
271,  272,  288,  292,  300,  306,  324, 
337,  338,  343,  346,  348,  349,  360, 
407,  408 

Apollodorus,  285 
Appius  Claudius,  214 
Apples  of  the  Hesperides,  294 
Apuleius,  405 
Arabia,  240 

Arcadia,  35,  54,  55,  70,  120, 121, 134, 
149,  242,  286,  288,  292,  308,  317 
Archemorus,  320,  321 
Ares  (see  also  Mars),  9,  23,  40,  49, 
81,  82,  83,  85,  86,  87,  90,  92,  94, 
96,  136,  190,  214,  238,  249,  254, 
257,  270,  279,  289,  291,  292,  311, 
313,  314,  317,  349,  385 
Areopagus,  83,  270,  349 
Arethusa,  123,  168,  175 
Arge,  288 
Arges,  26 
Argiope,  268 
Argiphontes,  137 
Argive,  239,  241,  248,  322 
Argive  Phoroneus,  234 
Argive  Hera,  241,  292 
Argive  Heroes  (Thebes),  254 
Argive  Perseus,  250 
Argo,  55,  309,  310,  313,  315 
Argolis,  202 

Argonauts,  54,  56,  97,  166,  218,  232, 
239,  268,  278,  289,  298,  306,  308, 
309,  312,  314,  320 

Argos,  47,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  63,  94, 
102,  217,  239,  240,  241,  242,  243, 
246,  247,  248,  249,  250,  252,  278, 
280,  282,  317,  348 


INDEX. 


411 


Argus,  50, 186,  137,  239,  240,  244 
Ariadne,  131,  132, 197,  275,  304,  305 
Arion,  54,  72,  130 
Aristaeus,  257,  266 
Arsinoe,  94 

Artemis  (see  also  Diana),  9,  23,  24, 
40,  63,  76,  107,  111,  112,  117,  118, 
119,  120,  121,  122,  123,  124,  126, 
127,  203,  217,  254,  257,  261,  288, 
289,  332,  333,  349 
Arval  Brothers,  354 
Aryans,  356,  372,  375,  376,  380,  395 
Asa,  358,  359,  365 
Ascanius,  92,  347 
Asclepiea  see  (Aescalapius),  204 
Asgard,  358,  359,  360,  399 
Assessors  of  the  dead,  401 
Ash,  358 
Asia,  326 

Asia  Minor,  109,  110,  124,  126,  127, 
131,  158,  207,  214,  231,  253,  278 
Asiatic  Artemis,  126 
Asopus,  168,  249,  258 
Asphodel,  61 
Astarte,  90,  240,  272 
Asteria,  76  . 

Asterion,  274 
Astraea,  40,  46,  140 
Astraeus,  183,  186 
Astyanax,  340 
Atabyrius,  37 
Atalanta,  120,  308,  317 
Ate,  215,  216 
Athamas,  164,  257,  310 
Athem,  360 


Athenaea,  95 
Athene  (see  also  Pallas  Athene,  and 
Minerva),  9,  24,  44,  48,  49,  51,  52, 
57,  82,  88,  89,  90,  94,  96,  97,  99, 
100,  101,  103,  122,  137,  148,  175, 
198,  209,  214,  219,  236,  237,  241, 
244,  246,  248,  252,  256,  257,  270, 
285,  297,  299,  304,  310,  314,  325, 
338,  344,  345,  349,  350,  353,  386, 
399  400 

Athens,  6,  35,  42,  55,  64,  74,  83, 100, 
122,  123,  131,  141,  175,  190,  195, 
197,  198,  199,  208,  213,  272,  276, 
303,  304,  305,  306,  314,  349 


Athor,  399,  400 
Athos,  185 

Atlas.  132,  171,  173,  174,  245,  294, 


295 

Atli,  37  5 


Atman,  360 
Atreus,  279,  280,  328 
Atropos,  212,  213,  308 
Attica,  30,  52,  70,  74,  98,  101,  103, 
131,  199,  213,  238,  264,  269,  270, 
271,  272,  276,  305,  306,  319 
Attis,  34,  35 
Audhumbla,  358 
Augean  stables,  289,  290,  297 
Augeas,  289,  290 
Augustus,  64,  148 
Auka,  396 

Aulis,  120,  332,  333,  334 
Auloniades  (Nymphs),  170 
Aura,  187,  188 

Aurora  (see  also  Eos),  185,  342 
Austri,  358 
Autonoe,  257 
Auxo,  198 

Avatar,  392,  393,  403 
Aventine  hill,  124,  127 
Avernus,  60,  77 


BAAii,  255,  400 
Baalbeck,  400 

Babylon,  Hanging  Gardens  of,  43 
Babylon,  Walls  of,  43 
Bacchic,  268 

Bacchus  (see  also  Dionysus\  16,  40, 
75,  86, 128,  129, 130, 132, 149,  154, 
155,  158,  165,  168 
Bacchus,  Indian,  132 
Bal,  382 
Bali,  366 
Baldr,  360,  365 
Baldur,  358 
Battle,  Van  of,  103 
Battus,  135 

Baucis  (see  also  Philemon),  39 
Belus,  240,  255 

Bellerophon,  98,  186,  232,  250,  251, 
252,  253,  283 
Belleros,  252 

Bellona  (see  also  Enyo),  214 
Bellonarii,  215 
Berecynthia,  33 
Bhavani,  391 
Bias,  243 
Bifraust,  359 
Bifrons,  147 
Bifrost,  368 

Boeotia,  50,  54,  55, 175,  190, 197,  256 
Bor,  358 


412 


INDEX. 


Boreas  (see  also  Wind  Gods),  145, 
183,  184,  185,  186,  218,  224,  272, 
292,  310,  312 
Borghild,  373 
Bori,  358 

Bragi,  360,  368,  369 

Brahm,  388,  389,  391 

Brahma,  388,  389,  391,  396 

Brahmanic  mythology,  378,  388 

Brahmin,  360 

Branchidae,  110 

Brauronia,  123 

Breidablick,  358,  365 

Briareus,  26 

Briseis,  200,  337,  338 

Britonartis,  121 

Bromius,  128 

Brono,  365 

Brontes,  26 

Bronze  age,  45,  140 

Brynhild,  366,  374,  401 

Bubastis,  395,  399 

Buddha,  393 

Buddhism,  378 

Burgundy,  283 

Busiris,  295,  298 

Byzigi,  103 


Cacus,  293 
Cadmeia,  254 

Cadmus,  6,  129,  164,  176,  254,  256, 
257,  258,  310,  325 
Cadmilus,  137 
Caeneus,  264 
Caesar,  Julius,  226 
Calais,  218,  310 
Calauria,  55 
Caleb  as,  332,  333,  338 
Calliope  (see  also  Muses),  177,  179, 
195,  266 

Callirrhoe,  170,  203,  292 
Calliste,  120 
Callisto,  122 

Calydon,  82,  300,  307,  308 
Calydonian  boar,  120,  307 
Calydonian  hunt,  82,  127 
Calymna,  185 
Calypso,  170,  352 
Cambyses,  404 
Campania,  89,  110 
Campus  Martius,  56 
Campus  Sceleratus,  80 
Canens,  153 


Capaneus,  317,  320,  322 

Capitol,  Rome,  94,  101  124,  203 

Capitoline  Hill,  33 

Capitoline  Museum,  31 

Cappadocia,  248 

(!apua,  Venus,  95 

Caria,  47,  48 

Carneia,  106 

Carneius,  106 

Carpo,  142 

Carthage,  91 

Casmilus,  137 

Castalia,  175 

Castor  (see  also  Pollux),  154,  258, 

308,  310,  326,  327,  329 
Cassandra,  110,  326,  344,  347,  348 
Cassiopea,  245 

Cattle  of  Geryon,  292 
Caucasus,  88,  236,  295,  298 
Cecropia,  270 

Cecrops,  185,  269,  270,  271,  272 
Celaeno  218 
Celeus,  70 

Centaur,  263,  264, 287,  288,  302,  306, 

309,  332 
Centimani,  26 
Cenubis,  396 

Cephalus  (see  also  Procris),  186, 187, 
188,  272 

Cepheus,  245,  246,  248,  300 
Cephissus,  168,  173 
Ceraunos,  365 

Cerberus,  60,  64,  65,  283,  295,  296, 
297,  408 

Ceres  (see  also  Demeter),  23,  28,  33, 
40,  59,  65,  66,  69,  71,  75,  405 
Cerigo,  91 
Certch,  221 
Cercyon,  303 
Ceryneia,  288 

Ceryneian  stag,  286,  288,  297 

Ceryx,  270 

Ceto,  219,  221 

Chalkeia,  88 

Chaos,  20,  30,  190,  221 

Charis,  24,  89 

Charites  (see  also  Graces),  40,  49, 
51,  92,  143,  181,  197 
Charitesia,  199 
Charlemagne,  356 
Charles’s  Wain,  362 
Charon,  60,  134 
Chimaera,  252,  253 


TNVEX, 


413 


Chiron  (see  also  Centaur),  203,  264, 
265,  288,  309,  332,  333 
Chloris  (see  also  Flora),  145,  185 
Christ,  43,  70,  364 
Christianity,  356 
Chrysaor,  245,  292,  373 
Chryse,  336 
Chryseis,  336,  338 
Chryses,  336,  337 
Chrysippus,  279 
Cicero,  75 
Cilicia,  240 
Cilix,  255 
Circe,  153,  352,  353 
Cithaeron,  170,  260,  261,  283 
Cithaeronian,  170 
Cleitus,  186 
Cleta,  198 
Cleverness,  39,  40 
Clio  (see  also  Muses),  176,  178 
Clotho,  212 

Clytaemnestra,  216,  217,  333,  334, 
348 

Clytius,  44 
Cnidus,  75,  91,  95 
Cnoupis,  396 
Cocalus,  277 
Cocytus,  61 
Coeus,  26 

Colchis,  218,  232,  310,  311,  313,  314, 
315 

Colline  Gates,  94 
Colonus,  217,  320 
Colophon,  110 
Colossus,  Rhodes,  43 
Comana,  214 
Compitalia,  227 
Comus,  156 
Copo,  109 

Cora  (see  also  Persephone),  65 
Corinth,  6,  50,  55,  63,  91,  94,  122, 
165,  242,  249,  250,  251,  261,  303, 
314,  315 

Corinthian  heroes,  249,  251,  254 

Coronides,  203 

Coronis,  203 

Corybantes,  34 

Cos,  44,  299 

Cottus,  26 

Cotyttia,  131 

Creation,  357 

Creation  of  man,  233 

Creon,  319,  320,  322,  323 

Crius,  26 


Cretan  Bull,  290,  297 
Crete,  2,  29,  30,  31,  47,  50,  70,  108, 
121,  131,  165,  190,  197,  270,  272, 
274,  277,  304,  306,  329 
Creusa,  272,  314 
Crommyon,  303 
Cronia,  30 
Cronides,  37,  38 
Cronion,  37 

Cronus,  16,  25,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31, 
32,  33,  37,  39,  44,  51,  59,  62,  69, 
77,  156,  217,  231,  358,  399,  400 
Cumae,  60,  110,  293 
Cumaean  Sibyl,  110 
Cupid  (see  also  Eros),  92,  189,  191, 
192,  193, 194,  225 
Cupido,  189,  194 
Curetes,  29,  34 
Cybebe,  33 
Cybela,  33 

Cybele,  33.  35,  149,  154,  158 
Cyclopes,  20,  26,  30, 54, 114,  350,  351, 
352 

Cycnus,  82,  117 
Cyllene,  Mount,  134 
Cyllenius,  134 
Cyparissus,  157 
Cypselus,  224 
Cythera,  91,  94 
Cytherea,  91 
Cyrene,  106,  298 
Cyprus,  91,  92,  94,  95 
Cyzicus,  35,  69,  312 


Daedalus,  275,  276,  277 
Daemons  (see  also  Genii),  225,  231, 
249 

Damastes  (Procrustes),  303 
Danae,  243,  244,  246 
Danaid,  241 
Danaides,  63,  64,  242 
Danaus,  53,  63,  240,  241 
Daphne,  122 
Daphnephoria,  109 
Dardanus,  203 
Darkness,  216 
Dawn,  368,  382,  386 
Daure,  368 
Day,  222 
Death,  222,  225 

Deianeira,  300,  301,  302,  308,  374, 
375 

Deidamia,  264,  331 


414 


INDEX, 


« 

:9 


Deimos,  83 
Deino,  221 
Deiphobe,  110 
Deiphobus,  345 
Delia,  112 

Delos,  88,  109,  112,  306 
Delphi,  13,  15,  29,  53,  104,  110,  111, 
112,  113,  140,  243,  255,  256,  272, 
283,  300,  348 
Delphinia,  108 
Delphinion,  108 
Delphinius,  108 

Demeter  (see  also  Ceres'*,  5,  9,  23, 
28,  33,  40,  54,  59,  65,  66,  69,  70, 
71,  72,  73,  74,  75,  77,  132,  165, 
171,  195,  221,  399,  405,  407 
Demigods  or  Heroes, 228 
Demosthenes,  1 
Denmark,  356 
Descent,  392 

Deucalion  (see  also  Pyrrha),  47,  233, 
234,  309 
Deus,  368 
Devas,  376 

Dia  (see  also  Hebe  and  Ganymeda), 
199,  263 

Diana  (see  also  Artemis),  23,  40,  43, 
118,  119,  123,  124,  125,  126,  127, 
168 

Dictynna,  121 
Dictys,  244,  246 
Didymi,  110 
Dii  Manes,  227 

Dike  (see  also  Astraea),  46,  144,  213 
Dindymene,  33 
Dindymon,  35 
Diodorus,  406 

Diomedes,  82, 102,  291,  342,  345,  347 
Dione,  5,  40,  91,  92 
Dioneus,  263 
Dionysiac,  131,  132,  268 
Dionysus  (see  also  Bacchus),  16,  40, 
50,  53,  74,  76,  86,  87,  88,  90,  128, 
130,  131,  132,  145,  148,  149,  150, 
154,  155,  158,  159,  160,  163,  168, 
171,  177,  194,  195,  197,  198,  229, 
242,  257,  268,  279,  287,  305,  306, 
320 

Dioscuri  (see  also  Castor  and  Pollux), 
154,  328,  329 

Dirae  (see  also  Erinys),  216 
Dirce,  260,  290 
Discordia  (see  also  Eris),  214 
Dissent,  378 


Dithyrambus,  128,  130 
Dodona,  38,  91,  171 
Dodonides,  171 
Donar  (see  also  Thor),  363 
Doorga,  370,  391 
Dorians,  234,  273 
Dorides,  161,  162,  171 
Doris,  57, 162 
Dread,  83 
Dryades,  24,  170 
Duty,  282 

Dwarves,  358,  364,  370 
Dyaus,  376,  379,  380,  381 
Dynamene,  163 
Dynaus,  368 


Earth,  25,  30,44,  54,  216,  224,  294 
Echidna,  284,  285,  382,  408 
Echion,  257 

Echo  (see  also  Narcissus),  172,  173 
Edda,  357,  358,  366,  375 
Egesta,  294 

Egypt,  43,  240,  248,  270,  295,  394, 
395 

Egypt,  myths,  394,  395 
Egypt,  pyramids,  43 
Egypt,  religion,  394 
Eirene  (see  also  Pax),  144, 145,  210, 
211 

Eleans,  84 

Electra,  181,  218,  348 
Eleusis,  6,  9,  70,  73,  74,  75,  76,  132, 
195,  271,303 
Eleutherae,  260 

Eleutho  (see  also  llithyia),  121 
Elfen,  370 
Elfheim,  358 

Elis,  14,  42,  43,  49,  55,  64,  100,  121, 
278,  279,  290 
Elusinia,  74 

Elusinian  mysteries,  58,  62,  69,  73, 
74,  75,  76 
Elves,  370 
Elysian  fields,  62 
Elysium,  62,  224,  258 
Emathion,  188 
Embla,  358 
Enagonios,  134 
Enceladus,  44,  97 
Endymion,  123 
Enipeus,  310 
Enyo,  214,  221 
Enyalios,  214 


INDEX. 


415 


Eos  (see  also  Aurora),  120, 183,  185, 
186,  188,  342,  343,  368,  386,  400 
Eons,  117 
Epaphus,  116,  240 
Epeios,  345 

Ephesian  Artemis,  124,  125,  127,  253 
Ephesus,  35,  43,  124,  125,  126 
Ephialtes,  44,  82,  238,  262 
Ephyra,  289 
Epicurus,  1 

Epidaurus,  200,  204,  303 
Epigone,  205, 

Epigoni,  317,  323,  324 
Epimelius,  138 
Epimetheus,  236 
Epirus,  38,  294 
Epopeus,  260 
Epoptae,  74 

Erato  (see  also  Muses),  163,  179,  180 
Erebus,  20,  210,  213,  221 
Erechtheum,  101,  103 
Erechtheus,  271,  272,  302,  306 
Ergane,  100 

Erich thonius,  89,  98,  270,  271 
Eridanus,  117 
Erins,  378 

Erinys  (see  also  Furies),  27,  54,  69, 
213,  216,  217,  266,  348,  350 
Eris  (see  also  Discordia),  83, 214,  325 
Eriphyle,  318 
Erlkonig,  370 

Eros  (see  also  Amor,  Cupid,  and 
Psyche),  20,  22,  24,  92,  94,  95, 
189,  190, 194,  197 
Erotes,  194 
Erotidia,  190 

Erymanthian  boar,  286,  297 
Erymanthus,  286 
Erytheia,  293 
Erytheis,  175 
Erysichthon,  71 
Eryx,  294 

Eteocles,  262,  321,  322 
Euboea,  50,  55,  63,  123,  301 
Euclid,  1 
Euhemerism,  366 

Eumenides  (see  also  Erinys),  214, 
216,  217,  320,  350 
Eumolpus,  74,  76,  271 
Eunomia,  144 
Euneice,  163 
Euneus,  312,  320 
Euphrosyne,  198 
Euploia,  95 


Euripides,  1, 31,  225 
Europa,  255,  274,  277,  290 
Eurus,  183,  184,  186 
Euryale,  219 
Eurybia,  26 

Eurydice,  65,  170,  266,  267,  269,365 
Eurynome,  40,  86,  198,  216,  365 
Euryphassa,  365 
Eurypylus,  344 

Eurystheus,  279,  282,  283,  286,  290, 
292,  294, 295,  296, 298,  300,  306 
Eurytion,  264,  293 
Eurytus,  268,  284,  300 
Euterpe  (see  also  Muses),  178,  180 
Excalibar,  373 


Fafnir,  374 
Fama  (Pheme),  215 
Farbanti,  369 

Fate,  39,  162,  208,  210,  342,  343, 372 

Father  of  the  Tiber,  167 

Fatua,  154 

Fatui,  154 

Fatum,  210 

Fatuus  (see  also  Faunus),  152,  153 

Fauna,  153,  154,  158 

Faunalia,  153 

Fauni,  153,  155 

Faunus,  152,  153,  154,  156 

Fays,  155 

Fenris,  368,  369,  383 

Field  of  Mars,  84 

Flora  (see  Chloris),  144,  145,  185 

Forseti,  360 

Fortuna  (see  also  Tyche),  208,  212 
Furiae  (see  also  Erinys),  27,  216 
Furies,  217,  219,  348,  349 
Freija,  359,  362,  363 
Freyr  (Fro),  360,  366,  367 
Frigg  (see  also  Freija),  362 
Frost,  358,  359 
Full,  Fulla,  363 


Gaea,  5,  20,  21,  25,  27,  28,  29,  30, 
33,  89, 140, 154, 160,  161,  181,  215, 
270 

Galatea,  162 
Galaxaure,  170 
Galene,  163 
Gamelia,  50 

Games,  55,  64,  89,  111,  250,  279,303 
Ganga,  391 


416 


INDEX. 


Ganymeda  (see  also  Hebe),  199, 
202 

Ganymedes,  200,  202,  203 
Gardens  of  the  Hesperides,  173 
Gardens,  Hanging,  of  Babylon,  43 
Garuda,  390 
Gaul,  293 

Genii  (see  also  Daemons),  225, 
227 

Genius,  225,  226 
Gerda,  366 

German  Mythology,  356 
Geryon,  292,  293,  294,  297 
Geryon,  Cattle  of,  292 
Geryoneus,  245,  292 
Giants,  20,  27,  44,  54,  97,  100,  103, 
160,  163,  215,  229,  262,  292,  293, 
294,  298,  358,  359,  370 
Gigantomachia,  31 
Ginki,  357 
Ginnunga-gap,  357 
Gioll,  359 

Girdle  of  Hippolyte,  291,  292 
Gladsheim,  360 
Glance,  163,  314 
Glaucopis,  100 
Glaucus,  110,  250 
Gmir,  370 

Gods,  Biver,  167,  402 
Golden  age,  44,  45,  140 
Golden  fleece,  313 

Graces  (see  also  Charites\  40,  49, 
51,  92,  143,  181, 194, 197, 198, 199, 
214,  236 
Gnossus,  272 
Goldropf,  368 

Gorgons,  219,  220,  221,  244,  246, 
248 

Gorgon’s  head,  246,  248 
Gorgon  Medusa,  97,  244  246,  247, 
248,  251 
Gorgophone,  97 
Gortyn,  272,  276  > 

Graeae,  221,  244 
Gram,  373,  374 
Great  Dionysia,  1 31 
Gredr,  367 

(xl^pppp  1 

Gudrun,  372,  374,  375 
Gulltopr,  368 
Gunnar,  366,  374 
Gyes,  Gyges,  26 
Gyrton,  262 


Hades  (see  also  Pluto),  9,  37,  44, 
51,  57,  58,  59,  60,  61,  64,  65,  69, 
70,  142,  216,  244,  249,  264,  284, 
295,  296,  352,  358,  401 
Haemon,  323 
Haemus,  268 
Halicarnassus,  43 
Halie,  163 
Halimus,  72 
Halirrhothius,  270 
Haloa,  72 
Hamadryad,  145 
Hamadryades,  170 
Hamund,  373 

Hanging  Gardens  of  Babylon ,  43 

Harmonia,  177,  257,  258,  325 

Har-pi-chruti,  407 

Harpies,  181,  218,  219,  289,  312 

Harpocrates,  407 

Hastinapur,  375 

Heaven,  363 

Heaven  Tower,  359 

Hebdomeius,  109 

Hebe  ( see  also  Dia,  and  Ganymeda), 
40,  51, 199,  200,  201, 202,  203,  301, 
302 

Hebrus,  268 
Hecataoes,  395 
Hecate,  44,  76,  154 
Hecatombaeon,  42 
Hecatoncheires,  26,  30 
Hector,  82,  336,  338,  339,  340,  341, 
342,  347 
Hecuba,  324 
Hegemon  e,  198 
Heimdall,  360,  368 
Hel,  359,  360,  370  r 

Hela,  359 

Helena,  213,  327,  329,  336,345,  347, 
350 

Helenus,  326,  344 
Helgi,  362,  373 
Heliades,  117 
Helice,  55 

Helicon,  175,  176,  197 
Heligoland,  362 
Heliopolis,  399,  400,  403 
Helios  (see  also  Phoebus  Apollc, 
and  Sol),  52,  61,  83, 104,  114, 115, 
116,  117,  118,  123,  128,  185,  186, 
274,  288,  290,  292,  293,  313,  382. 
399 

Hellas,  326 

Helle  (and  Phrixus),  310,  311 


INDEX. 


417 


Hellen,  234,  309,  310 
Hellenic,  234 
Hellespont,  231,  311 
Hemera,  20,  221 

Hephaestus  (see  also  Vulcan),  23, 
24,  26,  40,  44,  49,  83,  85,  86,  87, 
88,  89,  90,  92,  94,  95,  136,  236, 
238,  257,  270,  277,  340,  342,  3(54, 
384,  396 

Hera  (see  also  Juno),  5,  9,  23,  24,  33, 
40,  41,  44,  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  57, 
81,  86,  87,  89,  90,  94,  97, 112,  121, 
129,  130,  136,  137,  143,  161,  172, 
174,  181,  188,  199,  201,  202,  212, 
214,  223,  239,  240,  241,  242,  243, 
248,  249,  263,  264,  282,  283  284, 
285,  290,  292,  294,  297,  302,  310, 
325,  326,  329,  377,  398 
Hercules,  24,  40,  43,  44,  48,  49,  50, 
54.  55,  56,  60,  64,  82,  97, 103,  111, 
113,  137,  163,  175,  192,  202,  231, 
232,  236,  239,  248,  249,  253,  265, 
266,  278,302,  332,  335,  336,  344, 
345,  374,  381 
Hermae,  138,  140 
Hermaphroditus,  94 
Hermapollo,  148 
Hermathene,  148 

Hermes  (see  also  Mercury),  16,  18, 
23,  24,  39,  40,  61,  65,  111,  130, 
132,  133,  134,  136,  137,  138,  139, 
140,  148,  149,  154,  158,  169,  170, 
181,  182,  188,  192,  198,  209,  236, 
238,  239,  240,  241,  244,  246,  258, 
264,  269,  270,  282,  302,  340,  381, 
404,  407 
Hermione,  350 
Herodotus,  1,  14,  394 
Heroes  or  Demigods,  228 
Heroes,  Younger  Race  of,  316 
Herostratus,  126 
Herse,  270,  271 

Hesiod,  15,  20,  38,  91,  177,  230,  231, 
357,  358 

Hesione,  53,  55,  298 
Hespera,  175 

Hesperides,  173,  175,  283,  294,  295, 
296 

Hesperides,  Apples  of  the,  173 
Hesperides,  Gardens  of  the,  294 
Hesperis,  173 

Hestia  (see  also  Vesta),  23,  24,  28, 
33,77,  78 
Hialprek,  373 


Hilaeira,  327 
Himera,  294 
Himeros,  92,  194 
Himinbiorg,  358 
Hindoo  Mythology,  383,  386 
Hindoo  Religion,  388 
Hindoo  Trinity,  388 
Hindoos,  376 
Hippia,  100 
Hippo,  170 
Hippocampi,  56 
Hippocoontides,  300 
Hippocrene,  176 
Hippodamia,  200,  279 
Hippolochos,  254 
Hippolyte,  296,  306 
Hippolyte,  (jirdle  of,  291,  292 
Hippolytus,  94 
Hipponous,  317 
Hippotes,  182 
Hjordis,  373 
Hodr,  360,  365,  366 
Homer,  1,  15,  21,  49,  52,  82.  87, 166, 
177,  216,  252,  284,  316 
Hope,  237 
Hor,  407 

Hora  (see  also  Flora),  144,  145 
Horace,  56 

Horae,  40,  49,  51,  92,  140,  142,  143, 
181,  210,  236 
Horatius  Coccles,  355 
Horses  of  Diomedes,  291,  296 
Horus,  401,  407 
Hours  (see  also  Horae),  143 
Hresvelgr,  370 
Hrimthursen,  370 
Hrungnir,  370 
Humin,  361,  363 
Hunding,  373 
Hunland,  375 
Hyacinthia,  106,  107 
Hyacinthus,  106,  107 
Hyades,  171 
Hyas,  171 

Hydra  Learnean,  285,  287,  297 
Hygea  (see  also  Aesculapius),  205, 
206,  207 

Hylaeus  (see  also  Pan),  150 
Hylas,  312 

Hymen,  94,  195,  196,  197 
Hymenaeus,  195,  196 
Hyperboreans,  109,  111,  288,  294, 
295 

Hyperion,  26,  115,  185 


418 


INDEX. 


Hypermnestra,  241 ,  242 
Hypnos  (see  also  Somnos),  222,  223 
Hypsipyle,  312,  320 


Iberia,  293 

Icarus,  131,  132  275,  276,  277 
Iceland,  356,  357 
Icelus,  223 
Idaean,  170 

Ida,  Mount,  29,  48,  325,  326,  327 
Ida  (Nymph),  29,  170 
Idas,  308,  327 
Idomeneus,  329,  347 
Iduna,  368,  369 

Iliad,  49,  52,  53,  89,  198,  202,  223, 
230,  284,  289,  316,  372 
Ilion  (see  also  Troy),  332 
Ilithyia,  50,  121 
Illyria,  294 
Illyrium,  258 
Imbros,  137 
Inachus,  239 

India,  132, 150,  257.  295,  378, 380  381 
Indian  Bacchus,  132 
Intelligence  (see  also  Metis),  95 
Indra  365,  380,  381,  382,  384,  385, 
388,  395 

Ino,  164,  257,  310 
Inuus,  150 

lo,  50,  116,  136,  137,  138,  239,  243, 
248 

lobates,  242,  252 
lolaus,  285,  286 

lolcus,  262,  308,  309,  310,  311,  314 

lole,  300,  302 

Ion,  271,  272 

lonians,  56,  234,  271,  304 

Iphicles,  283 

Iphigenia,  120,  333,  334,  335,  338, 
349 

Iphimedia,  238 
Iphis,  317 
Isander,  254 
Isfeudyar,  366 

Isis  (see  also  Osiris),  56,  400,  402, 
405,  406,  407 
Ismene,  262 

Iris,  49,  181,  182,  302,  329 
Iron  Age,  46 

Isthmian  Festivals,  14,  15 
Isthmian  Games,  250,  303 
Isthmus  of  Corinth,  55 
Italy,  89,  106, 110,  204,  208 


Itanus,  273 
Ithaca,  330,  352  353 
Itys,  271 
Ivaldr,  370 

Ixion,  62, 63,  64,  263,  264 


Jacchus  (see  also  Dionysus),  74,  76 

Jamblichus,  396 

Janitar  (see  also  Dyaus),  379 

Janus,  31,  146,  147,  148,  210 

Japetus,  26,  235 

Jardanus,  273 

Jasion,  70 

Jaso,  206 

Jason,  264,  308,  309,  310,  311,  312, 
313,  314,  315,  320 
Jocasta,  261,  262,  318 
Jotunheim,  358,  359 
Julian  Family,  92 
Julius,  92 
Julius  Caesar,  226 
Juno  (see  also  Hera),  23,  28,  33,  40, 
T8,  51,  81,  94,  214,  325,  326,  329 
Junones,  51 

Jupiter  (see  also  Zeus),  23,  25,  33, 
36,  37,  38,  45,  47,  48,  81,  84,  146, 
203 

Justice  (see  also  Themis),  40 
Juventas  (see  also  Hebe),  200,  203 


Kali,  370,  391 
Kalki  Avatara,  393 
Kali  Yuga,  389,  391 
Kamadeva,  391 
Khem,  395,  397,  398 
Khuns,  398 
Krishna,  393 
Kurma,  392 
Kuvera,  391 


Labdacus,  258,  260,  261,  271 
Lacedaemon,  3()0,  3()8 
Lachesis,  212 
Laciniurn,  50 
Laconia,  121 

Ladon  (see  also  Hesperides),  72,  288 

Ladon  i  Serpent),  175 

Laertes,  330 

Laius,  261,  262,  317 

Lakshmi,  391 

Lampetia,  117 


INDEX, 


419 


Lampsacus,  35,  149 
Laocoon,  346 
Laodamia,  254 

Laomedon,  54,  55,  105,  114,  298 

Lapithae,  262,  263,  264 

Lar,  226 

Lara,  226 

Lararium,  226 

Lares,  226,  227 

Larissa,  242,  246,  247 

Larvae,  227 

Latium,  146,  152 

Latona  (see  also  Leto),  40,  111,  112 
Learchus,  310 

Learnean  Hydra,  285,  286,  287,  297 
Leiraonaides,  170 

Lemnos,  86,  88,  89, 131, 137,  236,  238, 
312,  320,  335,  345 
Lemures,  227 
Lenaea,  131 
Lerna,  53,  241 
Lesbos,  268,  342 
Lethe,  61 

Leto,  (see  also  Latona),  40,  63,  76, 
107,  111,  112,  115,  243 
Leucippus,'  327 
Leucophryna,  127 
Leucosia,  166 

Leucothea,  164,  165,  257,  352 
Liber,  75 
Libera,  65,  75 
Libitina,  69 

Libya,  240,  245,  255,  294,  295 

Lichas,  302 

Ligea,  166 

Limnades,  171 

Limnaea,  123 

Limoniades,  170 

Linus,  282 

Lips,  184 

Litai,  216 

Locri,  69,  293 

Loki,  365,  366,  369,  370 

Lower  World,  359 

Lucifer,  185,  188 

Lucian,  33 

Lucina,  51,  400 

Luna  (see  also  Selene),  76, 118,  124, 
128 

Lupercalia,  153,  354 
Lupercus,  150 

Lutinus  see  also  Priapus),  148 
Lyaeus,  128 

)  Lycia,  109,  242,  250,  252,  253,  278 

^  Murray — 30 


Lycomedes,  306,  330 
Lycius,  109 

Lycurgus  (King),  131,  320 
Lycurgus  (Legislator),  123,  274 
Lycus,  260,  272 
Lydia,  33,  158,  300 
Lycaeus  (Zeus),  292 
Lynceus,  241,  242,  308,  327 


Macedonia,  131,  294 
Machaon,  345 
Maeander,  127 
Maemacteria,  42 
Maemactes  (Zeus,  42 
Maenades,  156,  268 
Maenalian  stag,  288 
Magnesia,  35,  127 
Mahabharata,  372,  375,  388 
Mahadeva,  388 
Maia,  40,  132,  154 
Maiden  of  the  Spring,  374 
Man,  Creation  of,  233,  234,  235,  236, 
237 

Mandara,  392 
Manes,  227 

Marathon,  231,  290,  304 
Mars  (see  also  Ares),  23,  40,  49,  81, 
82,  83,  84,  85,  94,  152,  214,  354, 
385 

Mars,  Field  of,  84 
Mars’  Hill,  83 
Marspiter  (Mars  Pater),  84 
Marsyas,  113,  114,  118 
Maruts,  381,  385,  386 
Mat,  400,  405 
Mater  turrita,  34 
Matron  alia,  51 
Matsya,  392 
Maut,  395,  398,  399 
Mecone,  235 
Mechanitus,  100 

Medea,  278,  290,  303,  314,  315,  352 
Medicean  Venus,  95 
Meditrina,  206 
Meditrinalia,  206 

Medusa,  54,  103,  219,  220,  244,  245, 
246,  247,  248 
Megaera,  27,  217 
Megalesia,  35 
Meganede,  290 
Megapenthes,  247 
Megara,  272 
Meilichius  (Zeus),  42 


420 


INDEX, 


Melampus,  243 
Melanion,  317 

Meleager,  82, 120,  307,  308,  310 

Melete,  177 

Melia,  239 

Melian  Nymphs,  27 

Melicertes,  165,  250,  310 

Melobosis  170 

Melos,  206 

Melpomene  (see  Muses),  176,  179 
Memnon,  87,  188,  342 
Memphis,  396,  402,  404 
Menelaus,  280,  328,  329,  345,  347, 
350 

Menoeceus,  261,  322 
Menoetius,  293,  296,  332 
Mercurius,  139 

Mercury  (see  also  Hermes),  16,  23, 
39,  40,  61,  65,  111,  132,  133,  135, 
139,  158,  169,  170,  181,  198,  209, 
226,  282 
Melissa,  200 
Merope,  249 
Messene,  308 
Messenia,  55,  106,  121 
Metageitnia,  108 
Methymna,  130 
Metion,  272 

Metis,  29,  39,  40,  95,  140 
Midas,  35,  114,  115,  149 
Midea,  279 
Midgard,  358,  370 
Miletus,  110 
Milo,  Venus  of,  95 
Mimir,  369 

Minerva  (see  also  Athene  and  Pallas 
Athene),  23,  40,  79,  95,  96,  97,  98, 
99, 100, 101, 102, 103,  198,  214, 325 
Minos,  64,  121,  197,  232,  270,  274, 
275,  276,  277,  278,  279,  290,  304, 
306 

Minotaurus,  108,  273,  276,  304 
Minyae,  283 
Miolnir,  385 
Mneme,  177 

Mnemosyne  (see  also  Muses),  26,  40, 
175,  180,  361 

Mnevis  (see  Apis  and  Onuphis), 
402 

Moloch,  31,  272 
Molorchus,  284,  285 
Moera,  210,  342 

Moerae  (see  also  Parcae),  140,  210, 

211,  212 


Moeragetes,  212 
Momus,  223 
Morea,  106 

Mors  (see  also  Thanatos),  224,  225 

Mosychlus,  86,  88 

Mu,  399,  400 

Mumin,  361,  363 

Munychia,  123 

Musagetes,  111,  117,  177 

Musea,  176 

Muses,  40,  111,  143,  165,  166,  175, 
176,  177, 178,  179,  180,  181,  194. 
197,  199,  201,  222,  257,  266,  268, 
361 

Muses,  Mother  of  (see  also  Mnemo¬ 
syne  (Memory),  40,  175,  180 
Muspelheim,  357,  358,  372 
Mut  (see  also  Isis),  398,  399 
Mycenae,  240,  248,  279,  283,  286, 
290,  291,  292,  293,  294,  348,  350 
Myrmidons,  339 
Myrtilus,  279 
Mysia,  332 
Mycale,  55 
Myrrh  a,  94 
Mystae,  74 
Mimir,  369 

Memory  (Mnemosyne), 361 
Moon  (Selene),  24,  44 
Morpheus  (see  also  Oneiros),  223 


Nagananda,  371 

Naiades  (see  also  Nymphs),  24,  171 
Napaeae  ( Auloniades),  170 
Narasingha,  392 
Narayana,  389 

Narcissus  (see  also  Echo),  172,  173 

Nastrand,  359 

Nauplia,  55,  241 

Nauplius  (Poseidon),  241 

Nausicaa,  353 

Nausimedon,  241 

Naxos,  53,  131,  305 

Neith,  398,  399,  400 

Neleus,  54,  310 

Nemea,  284,  320 

Nemean  Games,  14,  15 

Nemean  Lion,  284,  285,  297 

Nemesia,  213 

Nemesis,  213,  216 

Neoptolemus,  331,  344,  345,  347 

Neph,  395,  396,  400,  408 

Nephele,  310 


INDEX, 


421 


Nepte,  400 
Nephthys,  400,  407 
Neptune  (see  also  Poseidon),  23,  28, 
33.  37,  44,  49;  51,  52,  53,  54,  55, 
56,  57,  95, 163,  164,  262 
Neptunus,  56 

Nereides  (see  also  Nymphs),  161, 
162,  163,  165,  171,  245,  250 
Nereus  (see  also  Nereides),  57,  160, 
161,  162, 171,  293,  294,  382 
Nesaee,  163 
Nessus,  302 
Nestor,  54,  329,  347 
Neverita,  57 
Nibelungenlied,  372 
Niblungs,  366, 372 
Niflheim,  357,  359 
Nike  (see  Victoria),  100,  209,  210 
Nile,  240 

Nile  God,  167,  402 
Niobe,  107,  261,  278 
Nisos,  272 
Nomius,  108,  138 
Nordri,  358 
Nornen,  372 
Norse  Apollo,  360 
Norsemen,  356 

Norse  Mythology,  356,  357, 358,  360, 
365,  370,  373,  383,  395 
Norse  Phoebus,  356 
Norse  Styx,  359 
Norway,  356 

Notus  (see  Wind  Gods),  183,  186 
Nox  (Night),  20,  221,  222 
Num,  396,  398 

Numa  Pompilius,  79,  85,  147,  148 
Nutpe,  400,  405 
Nycteus,  260 
Nymphae,  169 

Nymphs,  24,  27,  54,  150,  168,  169, 
170 

Nysa,  130,  132,  160 


OcEANiDES  (see  also  Nymphs),  161, 
170,  198,  209,  218,  292 
Oceanus,  21,  26,  30,  57,  60,  61,  160, 
161,  163,  170,  181,  187,  213,  223, 


239,  293 

October  Horse,  84 
Ocypete,  218 
Odin,  358,  359,  360, 
364,  365,  366,  367, 
Odin’s  Wain,  362 


361,  362,  363, 
370,  373,  374 


Odin’s  Way  (Milky  Way),  362 
Odysseus  (see  also  Ulysses),  61,  89, 
102,  164,  166,  183,  330,  331,  334, 
342,  344,  345,  346,  347,  350,  353 
Odyssey,  61,  83,  284,  316,  372 
Oechalia,  268,  300 
Oedipus,  261,  262,  318,  319, 320, 322, 
323 

Oeneus,  300,  307 

Oenomaus,  83,  200,  279 

Oenone,  374 

Oeta,  302 

Ogres,  385 

Oiax,  241 

Oicles,  298,  318 

Olympia,  9,  14,  42,  43, 45, 46, 47 ,  49, 
50,  64,  95,  144,  279 
Olympiads,  14, 43,  55, 100 
Olympian  Games,  55,  279 
Olympus,  6,  9,  20,  23,  24,  30,  35,  44, 
45,  46,  49,  65,  77,  83,  86,  87,  88, 
90,  95, 114,  140, 142, 175, 176, 181, 
190,  198,  200,  202,  203,  204,  215, 
236,  238,  254,  257,  262,  268,  282, 
284,  302,  342,  382,  399 
Omphale,  299,  300 
Oneiropompos,  134 
Oneiros  (see  also  Morpheus),  223 
Onuphis  (see  also  Apis),  403 
Opheltes,  320 
Ops,  32,  154 
Orchomenus,  197,  283 
Oreades  (see  Nymphs),  24,  150, 
170 

Orestes,  122,  216,  217,  334,  348,  349, 
350 

Orion,  120, 186 
Orithyia,  184,  185,  272 
Orkneys,  361 
Ormuzd,  395 

Orpheus  (see  Eurydice),  60,  65,  166, 
170,  258,  266,  267,  268,  269,  310 
Orthia,  122 
Orthosia,  122 
Oschophoria,  306 
Osirian  Divinities,  395,  400 
Osiris  (see  Isis  and  Serapis),  395, 
400,  401,  402,  403,  404,  407, 
408 

Ossa,  238 
Othrys,  30 
Otricoli  (Zeus),  47 
Otus,  82,  238,  262 
Ovid,  146 


422 


INDEX. 


Palaemon,  165 
Palatnedes,  137,  241,  330,  333 
Palatine  Hill,  114,  124,  354 
Pales,  158 
Palilia,  158,  354 

Palladium,  79,  85,  102,  103,  344, 
345,  346 

Palladium  of  Freedom,  103 
Pallantides,  304 

Pallas  Athene  (see  Athene),  23,  40, 
79,  81, 95, 96,  97,  99, 100, 101 , 102, 
1  0 91  4  ^44 

Pan,  114,’ 115,  148,  149,  150,  151, 
152,  153,  158,  159,  170,  172,  173, 
397 

Panathenaea,  100,  306 
Panathenaic  Games,  89,  270 
Pandareus,  219 
Pandion,  271,  272 
Pandora,  235,  236,  237 
Pandrosos,  270 
'  Panes,  153,  155 
Panisci,  151,  153,  155 
Panope,  162 
Panoplis,  398 
Pantheon,  395 
Paphus,  94,  95 

Parcae  (see  also  Moerae),  140,  208, 
210  212  308 

Paris,’ 51,  k,  140,  325,  326,  327,  328, 
329,  343,  345,  374 
Parnassus,  47,  175,  176,  234 
Parthenia,  50 

Parthenon,  24,  57,  100,  103,  128 
Parthenopaeus,  82,  317 
Parthenope,  166 
Parthenos,  100 
Pasiphae,  274,  276,  290 
Pasithea,  163. 198 

Patroclus,  231,  332,  337,  338,  339, 
340,  341 

Paul,  St.,  70,  126 
Pausanius,  24,  31,  43,  224 
Pax  (see  also  Eirene),  210,  211 
Pedasus,  336 

Pegasus,  54,  98,  169,  171,  186,  188, 
219,  245,  250,  251,  253 
Pegasus,  Medusa,  245 
Peirene,  249,  251 
Peitho,  24,  92,  199 
Pelagia,  56 
Pelasgic,  234 

Peleus,  141,  162, 177,  214,  265.  298, 
308,  310,  325,  330 


Peliades,  170 

Pelias,  54,  309,  310,  314 

Pelion,  170,  203,  238,  264,  288 

Peloponessus,  65,  204,  234,  290  I 

Pelops,  278,  279,  302 

Penates,  226 

Penelope,  330,  353 

Peneus,  6,  168,  290 

Penthesilea,  341 

Pentheus,  131,  257 

Pephredo,  221 

Periander,  200 

Pericles,  1 

Periclymenus,  299  ] 

Periphates,  303  j 

Perkunes,  365 

Perseis,  274,  313  | 

Persephone  (see  also  Proserpina, 
Cora),  16,  40,  59,  60,  64,  65,  66,  4 

67,  68,  69,  70,  73,  74,  75,  92,  107, 

142,  165,  171,  194,  216,  249,  264, 

266,  306,  401, 405  i 

Perseus,  97,  103,  219,  221,  232,  243,  > 

244,  245,  246,  247,  248,  251,  282,  ^ 

283  J 

Persephoneia,  65  i 

Perses,  76,  248  1 

Persians,  56,  100,  110,  248  « 

Perune.  365  J 

Pessinus,  34,  35  .7 

Phaeacians,  353 
Phaedra,  275,  306 
Phaenna,  198 
Phaestus,  274,  277 
Phaethon,  116,  117,  290 
Phaethusa,  117 
Phantasus,  223 
Pharaoh,  400 

Pheme  (see  also  Fama),  215 
Pherae,  114,  308 
Pherephatta,  76 
Pherusa,  163 

Phidias,  1,  4,  24,  43,  50,  84,  95,  99, 

103,  190 

Philammon,  268 
Philemon  (and  Baucis),  39 
Philippus,  64 

Philoctetes,  278,  302,  335,  345,  347 

Philomela,  271 

Phineus,  218,  246,  289,  312 

Phlegon,  117 

Phlegraean,  293 

Phlius,  199,  200,  202  : 

Phobetor,  223 


INDEX. 


423 


Phobos  (Alarm),  83 
Phocis,  348 
Phoebe,  26,  327 

Phoebus  Apollo  (see  also  Helios  and 
Sol),  104,  105,  106,  107,  108,  109, 
110,  111,  112,  113,  114,  115,  116, 
117,  123 

Phoenicians,  90,  91,  240,  273 
Phoenix,  255,  274 
Pholoe,  287 
Pholus,  287,  288 
Phorcys,  165,  219,  221 
Phoroneus,  234,  239 
Phrah,  400 

Phrixus  (and  Helle),  310,  311 

Phrygia,  33,  35,  39,  63,  131,  158, 
203,  278 
Phtliia,  325 
Pi  (Ra),  400 
Picumnus,  153,  154 
Picus,  152,  153 
Pieria,  175,  266,  268 
Pierides,  175 
Pierus,  175 
Piluranus,  153,  154 
Pimpla,  Pimplea,  175 
Pindar,  1,  3,  74,  198 
Pindus,  176 
Piraeus,  184 

Pirithous,  263,  264,  296,  306,  310 

Pisander,  284 

Pitho  (Suada),  199 

Pittheus,  302 

Plataea,  31,  231 

Plato,  1 

Pleasure,  282 

Pleiades  (see  also  Nymphs),  171, 
288 

Pleione,  171 
Plexaure,  170 
Plutarch,  406 

Pluto  (see  also  Hades),  16,  28, 
33,  37,  44,  57,  58,  59,  60,  61,  62, 
63,  64,  67,  69,  135,  165,  204,  249, 
296 

Pluton  (Pluto),  58 
Pluton-Hades,  64 
Plutus,  71,  145 
Podarces  (Priamus),  298 
Podarge,  218 
Poena,  213 
Poeas,  278 
Polias,  100,  270 


Pollux  (see  Castor,  Polydeuces,  and 
Dioscuri),  154,  258,  308,  310,  312, 
327,  328,  329 
Polybotes,  44 
Polybus,  261 
Polyclitus,  50,  51 
Polycrates,  50 
Polydectes,  244,  246,  283 
Polydeuces  (see  Castor  and  Pollux), 
308,  326 

Polydorus,  257,  258 
Polyhymna  (see  also  Muses),  179, 
180 

Polyidus,  252 
Polymna,  180 

Polynices,  262,  317,  318,  321,  323 
Polyphemus,  54,  350,  351,  352 
Polyphonte,  94 
Polytheism,  5 

Pomona  (see  also  Vertumnus),  145, 
153 

Pontifex  Maximus,  79 
Pontius,  250 
Pontus,  20,  161,  248 
Porphyrion,  44 

Poseidon  (see  also  Neptune),  9,  15, 
23,  24,  28,  33,  37,  44,  49,  51,  52, 
53,  54,  55,  56,  57,  59,  64,  72,  76, 
78,  84,  91,  95,  98,  103,  114,  129, 
136,  161,  162,  163,  164,  171,  183, 
219,  240,  241,  245,  249,  250,  252, 
255,  258,  262,  264,  270,  276,  279, 
290,  294,  315,  350,  351,  352,  358, 
382 

Poseidon  Nauplius,  241 

Potameides  (see  also  Nymphs),  171 

Potamia,  123 

Pothos,  92,  194 

Potiphar.  252 

Pracriti,  391 

Praeneste,  209 

Prama,  393 

Praxiteles,  1,  22,  31,  51,  95,  132, 191 

Priam,  336,  340,  344,  346,  347 

Priamus,  298,  324 

Priapus,  148,  398 

Prithivi,  392 

Procles,  200 

Procne,  271 

Procris  (see  Cephalus),  187, 188,  272 

Procrustes,  303 

Prodicus,  281 

Proetus,  242,  243,248,  252 

Promachos  (Van  of  Battle),  103 


424 


INDEX. 


Prometheus,  88,  89,  90,  95,  232,  233, 
235,  236,  237,  238,  239,  266.  295, 
298 

Propontis,  69 

Proserpina  (see  also  Persephone), 
40,  64,  65,  66,  67,  69,  92,  135 
Proteus,  161 
Prymno,  170 

Psyche  (see  also  Amor,  Cupid,  and 
Eros),  189,  191,  193,  194 
Psychopompos,  61,  134,  407 
Pthah,  395,  396,  400 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  405 
Punic  Wars,  35,  111,  148 
Pyanepsia,  306 
Pygmalion,  92 
Pygmies,  295 
Pylades,  348,  349 
Pylos,  55,  64,  134,  299,  329 
Pylus,  272 
Pyramids,  Egypt,  43 
Pyriphlegethon,  61 
Pyroses,  117 
Pyrrha,  47,  233,  234 
Pythagoras,  13 
Pythia,  109 
Pythian  Festivals,  14 
Pythian  Games,  111 
Pythius,  113 
Pytho,  112 

Python,  104,  111,  113,  229 


Quoasir,  383 


Ea,  399,,  400,  407 
Eainbow,  359 
Kakshasas,  382 
Eama,  393 
Eamayana,  372,  393 
Eanno,  398 
Reate,  84 
Eegin,  374 
Eeifriesen,  370 
Eeimthursen,  357 
Remus,  81,  84,  354 
Rerir,  372 

Rhadamanthus,  64,  274,  278,  282 
Rhamnus,  213 
Rhamnusia,  213 

Rhea  (see  also  Cybele),  26,  28,  29, 
31,  33,  34,  35,  47,  59,  69,  77,  158, 
159,  400,  402 


Rhea  Silvia,  81 
Rhegium,  293 
Rhine,  375 
Rhodes,  37,  106, 165 
Rhodes,  Colossus  at,  43 
Rhodia  (Kymphs),  170 
Rhodope,  268 
Rhoetus,  44 
Rigveda,  380,  382,  384 
Rime,  357 
River  Gods,  167 

Rome,  48,  56,  81,  84,  89,  102,  110, 
111,  114,  148,  203,  204,  210,  213, 
214,  293,  354 

Romulus,  81,  8'4,  89,  147,  282,  354 


Sabaeism,  400 

Sabazia,  131 

Sabines,  147 

Saecular  Games,  64 

Saga,  361,  372,  374,  375 

Sais,  399  ^ 

Saivas,  388 
Salacia,  57 
Salamis,  56,  100, 110 
Salii,  85 

Samos,  50,  51,  55,  190 
Samothrace,  70,  137 
Sanscrit,  376 
Santorin,  86 
Saranyu,  378 
Saraswati,  389,  390 
Sardis,  35 

Sardonic  Laughter,  278 
Saronic  Gulf,  77 
Sarpedon,  274,  278 
Sati,  395,  398,  408 

Saturn  (see  also  Saturnus),  31,  32, 
33,  145,  146,  157 
Saturnalia,  30,  32,  33,  227 
Saturn  ia,  31 

Saturnus,  16,  27,  31,  32,  152,  153 
Satyavrata,  392 
Satyrisci,  156 

Satyrs  (see  also  Sileni),  132, 155, 156, 
158,  159, 160,  169,  170,  240,  241, 
260 

Sauroctonos,  118 
Savitar,  383 
Saxnot,  368 
Scandinavia,  356 
Sceleratus  Campus,  80 
Sciron,  303 


INDEX. 


425 


[  Scopas,  191 
Scylla,  352 

I  Scyros,  55,  330,  331,  344 
\  Scythia,  295 
‘  Seb,  400,  401,  402 

Selene  (see  also  Luna),  24,  76,  118, 
123,  128,  185 
!  Selinus,  219,  248 
Selli,  38 

Semele,  40,  50,  129,  130,  154,  165, 
257 

Semnae  (see  also  Erinys),  216 
Serapis  (see  also  Osiris),  404,  405 
'  Seriphus,  244,  245,  246 

Servius  Tullius,  81,  124,  127,  203 
Seth,  400 

Seven  Wonders  of  Ancient  World, 
43 

Sibylline  Books,  110 
!  Sibylline  Fates,  35 
,  Sicily,  89,  91 

S  Sicyon,  106,  235,  243,  260,  318 
Sidon,  274 
Siegfried,  64,  283 
Siggeir,  373 
Sigi,  372 

Sigmund,  366,  373 
Sigmund  Sigfusson,  357 
Signy,  373 

j  Sigurd,  366,  373,  374,  375 
!  Sileni  (see  Satyrs\  90,  132, 155,  158 
Silenus  (see  also  Sileni),  130,  132, 
158,  159,  160 

!  Silvanus,  155,  156,  157 
it  Silver  Age,  44 
Sinis,  303 

!  Sinon,  346,  347 
Sinope,  405 
Sintians,  86 

Sirens,  69,  165,  166,  352 
Sirius,  120 

Sisyphus,  62,  63,  64,  249,  250 
Siva,  388,  391 
Skirnir,  366 
Sleep,  222,  223,  224 
Sleipnir,  359 
Smyrna,  35,  213,  214 
Snowland,  356,  357 
Socrates,  1,  15,  205 
Sol  (see  also  Helios),  104,  114 
Solar  Myth,  372,  374,395 
;  Solymi,  253 

Soma,  383,  384,  385 
Somnus  (see  also  Hypnos),  222 


Sophocles,  1,  262,  375 
Soteira,  100 

Sparta,  84,  94,  102,  106,  107,  122, 
175, 190,  197, 198,  213,  280,  328 
Spartae,  256,  257 
Sphinx,  261,  262 
Sterility,  402 
Steropes,  26 
Stesichorus,  284 
Stheino,  219 
Stheneboea,  242,  252 
Sthenelus,  282 
Strymon,  268 

Stymphalian  Birds,  288,  297 

Stymphalus,  288 

Styx,  60,  116,  130,  181,  359 

Styx  (Nymph),  209 

Suada,  199 

Suadela,  92,  199 

Sudri,  358 

Sulla,  111 

Sun,  24,  44,  83,  383 
Sunium,^Cape,  103 
Suovetaufilia,  84 
Surtr,  ^1 
Surya,  382,  388 
Sweden,  356 
Sybaris,  106 
Symplegades,  312,  313 
Syrinx,  149 


Taenaeum,  55,  295 
Talos,  273,  277,  278 
Tantalus,  62,  63,  261,  278 
Taranis,  365 
Tarentum,  106 
Tarquin,  110 

Tartarus,  16,  23,  24,  27.  30,  62,  63, 
64,  76,  94,  161,  221,  222,  224,  242, 
264  279 

Tauric  Artemis,  122,  349 
Taurus,  217,  334,  349 
Taygete,  288 
Tegea,  84,  300 
Telamon,  298,  341 
Teleia,  50 

Telemachus,  330,  353 
Telephassa,  255 
Telephus,  332.  334,  344 
Telesphorus,  207 
Telesto  (Nymphs),  170 
j  Tempe,  6,  54,  262 
I  Temple  of  Victory,  35 


426 


INDEX. 


Tenedos,  165,  347 
Tenos,  55 
Tereus,  271 
Terminalia,  148 
Terminus,  148 

Terpsichore  (see  Muses'),  180,  181 
Tethys,  21,  26,  57,  160,  161,  163 
Teutamias.  246 
Teutons,  355,  356,  357 
Thalassius,  195 

Thalia  (see  Muses),  177,  179,  198 
Thallo,  142 
Thalysia,  72 
Thamyris,  268 

Thanatos  (see  also  Mors),  222,  224 

Thargelia,  108 

Thargelius,  108 

Thasos,  131 

Thaumas,  181,  218 

Thebais,  316,  396,  398 

Thebe,  260 

Thebes,  6,  83,  109,  129,  130,  131, 
141,  188,  232,  240,  254,  256,  257, 
258,  260,  261,  262,  271,  283,  300, 
316,  317,  318,  320,  322,  323 
Theia,  185 

Themis  (Justice),  26,  40,  112,  113, 
140,  141,  142,  144,  212,  325 
Themistocles,  110 
Theophane,  54 
Theophania,  111 
Theoxenia,  111 
Thersites,  342 
Theseum,  306 

Theseus,  55,  97,  100,  131,  199,  232, 
253,  264,  273,  276,  280,  290,  296, 
302,  303,  304,  305,  306,  308,  310, 
320,  328 
Ihesmoi,  72 
I  hesmophoria,  72 
Thesmophorus,  72 
Thespiae,  190,  283 
Thespius,  283 

Thessaly,  30,  35,  55,  63,  71,  246,  262, 
308,  309,  325 

Thetis,  23,  49,  86, 141, 161, 170, 177, 
279,  330,  331,  338,  340,  342,  344 
Thia,  26 
Thiassi,  370 
Thoe,  163 

Thor,  359,  360,  363,  364,  369,  370, 
380,  385 

Thoth,  401,  407,  408 

Thrace,  84,  131,  255,  266,  268,  271 


Thucydides,  1 
Thyene,  171 
Thyestes,  279,  280 
Tiber,  204 
Tiber,  Father,  167 
Tiresias,  61,  322,  352 
Tiryns,  242,  247 
Tisiphone,  27,  217 
Titaea,  174 
Titan  Oceanus,  39 
Titanomachia,  31,  44 
Titans,  20,  24,  26,  27,  30,  33,  39,  43, 
44,  51,  76,  140,  150,160,161,  175, 
180, 185,  229,  235,  262 
Tithonus,  187,  188,  342 
Tityus,  63,  229 
Tower  of  Winds,  184 
Triformis,  77 
Trimurti,  388 
Trinacia,  115,  352 
Trinity,  398,  399 
Triptolemus,  70,  73,  75,  76 
Tritogeneia,  95,  96 
Triton,  163,  164,  165 
Triton  ia,  95,  96 
Tritonis,  95 
Trivia,  77 

Troezen,  55,  141, 175,  302,  303 
Troilus,  336 

Trojan  War,  102,  108,  200,  298,  324 
Trojans,  49,  55,  82 
Trollweiber,  372 
Tros,  203 

Troy  (see  also  llion),  54,  79,  98, 102, 
120,  203,  232,  258,  280,  299,  316, 
324,  326,  329,  331,  334,  335.  336, 
338,  340,  341,  342,  344,345,346, 
350  352 

Tyche  (see  also  Fortuna),  208,  212 
Tydeus,  318,  320,  342 
Tyndareus,  300,  328 
Typho,  395,  401,  402 
Typhon,  183,  284,  285,  407 
Tyrrhenian,  131 


Ullr,  360 

Ulysseus  (see Odysseus), 330, 331,  373 
Urania  (see  Themis  and  Muses),  94, 
140,  178,  179 

Uranus,  16,  20,  25,  26,  27,  28,  31,  33, 
44,  91,  140,  160, 177,  190,  379 
Ushas,  368,  386,  387,  400 
Usijas,  384 


INDEX. 


427 


Vaishnavas,  388,  390 
V alaskialf ,  359 
Valerius  Publicola,  64 
Vali,  360 
Valkyrien,  372 
Valkyrior,  371 
Van  of  Battle,  103 
Varaha,  392 

Varuna,  379,  380,  384,  385 
Vatican,  117,  346 
Vayu,  384,  385,  388 
Ve,  360 

Vedas,  8,  376,  385,  389 

Vedic  Mythology,  376,  378,  379 

Vedism,  378 

Veneralia,  94 

Venilia,  57 

Venus  (see  also  Aphrodite),  23,  40, 
83,  85,  90,  93,  94,  104,  198,  214, 
223,  325 

Venus  of  Capua,  95 
Venus  of  Milo,  95 
Venus,  Victrix,  95 
Vergil,  56 

Vertumnus  (see  also  Pomona),  145 
Vesta  (see  also  Hestia),  23,  28,  33, 
77,  78,  79,  80,  85,  158 
Vestal,  79 
Vestal  Virgins,  81 
Vestalia,  81 

Victoria  (see  also  Nike),  209,  297 
Victory,  Temple  of,  35 
Vikings,  356 
V  ingolf,  358 

Vishnu,  365,  377,  384,  385, 388,  390, 
391,  392, 393 
Vithar,  360,  369 
Volsung  Saga,  372,  374,  375 
Volsungs,  366,  372,  373 
Vritra,  382,  384,  395 
Vulcan  (see  also  Hephaestus),  23,  26, 
40,  44,  49,  83,  85,  87,  89,  92,  95, 
104,  198,  396 
Vulcanalia,  89 


WalhalLiA,  358,  362,  371,  372 
We,  358 


Wegtom,  383 
Western  Oceanus,  225 
Westri,  358 
Will,  358 
Wind  Gods,  183 
Winds,  Tower  of,  184 
Woden,  360,  396 
Wuotan,  360,  396 


XuTHUS,  272 


Yggdrasil,  359,  369 
Ymir,  357,  358 


Zend  A  VESTA,  358 
Zephyrus  (see  also  Wind  Gods),  107, 
145,  183,  184,  185, 186 
Zetes,  218,  310 

Zethus,  258,  259,  260,  261,  282 
Zeus  (see  also  Jupiter),  34,  35,  36, 
37,  38,  39,  40,  41,  42,  44,  45,46, 
47,  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  54,  55, 
56,  57,  59,  63,  64,  65,  76,  78,  81, 
83,  86,  87,  91,  92,  95,  97, 100, 109, 
111,  114,  116,  117,  121,  122,  129, 
130,  132, 133,  134, 135,  136,  137, 
138,  140,  141,  142,  143,  145,  149, 
162,  163,  165,  170,  171,  173,  174, 
175,  181,  183,  186,  187,  190,  198, 
199,  200,  202,  203,  204^  205,  208, 
209,  210,  212,  213,  215,  216,  217, 
225,  229,  231,  234,  235,  236,  239, 
241,  243,  248,  249,  254,  255,  257, 
258,  260,  263,  264,  268,  270,  274, 
276,  277,  278,  280,  282,  283,  284, 
290,  292,  301,  311,  320,  322,  325, 
327,  338,  340,  358,  360,  361,  362, 
363,  364,  368,  376,  379,  380,  396 
Zeus,  Lycaeus,  292 
Zeus,  Ombrios,  360 
Zeus,  Otricola,  47 
Zeus,  Meliachios,  47 
Zeuxis,  1 
Ziu,  368 
Zwerge,  370 
Zygia,  50 


MANUAL  OF  MYTHOLOGY 

GREEK  AND  ROMAN,  NORSE  AND  OLD  GERMAN, 
HINDOO  AND  EGYPTIAN  MYTHOLOGY 

^  FOR  THE  USE  UF 

SCHOOLS,  ART  STUDENTS  AND  GENERAL  READERS 

By  ALEXANDER  S.  MURRAY, 

Department  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  British  Museum,  London 

With  Notes,  Revisions  and  Additions 

By  WILLIAM  H.  KLAPP 
Head  Master  of  The  Episcopal  Academy,  Philadelphia 

Two  Hundred  Illustrations,  and  a  Complete  Index 
Large  i2mo.  Cloth,  464  pages.  Price,  ^1.25 

There  has  long  been  needed  a  compact,  manageable  Manual  of 
Mythology,  which  should  be  a  guide  to  the  Art  student  and  the  general 
reader,  and  at  the  same  time  answer  the  purpose  of  a  school  text-book. 
This  volume  has  been  prepared  by  the  Director  of  the  Department 
of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities  in  the  British  Museum,  upon  the  basis 
of  the  works  of  Petiscus,  Preller,  and  Welcker,  has  had  so  extensive  a 
sale  in  the  English  edition,  as  to  prove  that  it  precisely  supplies  this 
want.  This  new  edition  has  been  reprinted  from  the  latest  English 
edition,  and  contains  nearly  all  the  illustrations  of  the  latter,  while  the 
chapter  ufon  Eastern  Mythology  has  been  carefully  revised  by  Prof. 
W.  D.  Whitney,  of  Yale  College.  Besides  these  revisions  the  whole 
book  has  been  carefully  gone  over  and  is  remarkable  for  the  scholarly 
scrupulosity  with  which  the  text  is  collated  and  established  ;  and  for  its 
sumptuousness  of  paper  and  printing,  its  lavish  illustrations,  and  exceed¬ 
ingly  low  price. 

THE  CLEVELAND  HERALD.— ‘‘It  has  been  acknowledged  the  best  work 
on  the  subject  to  be  found  in  a  concise  form,  and  as  it  embodies  the  results  of  the 
latest  researches  and  discoveries  in  ancient  mythologies,  it  is  superior  for  school  and 
general  purposes  as  a  handbook  to  any  of  the  so-called  standard  works.’ 

THE  BOSTON  JOURNAL  —“Whether  as  a  manual  for  reference,  a  text¬ 
book  for  school  use,  or  for  the  general  reader,  the  book  will  be  found  very  valuable 

and  interesting.” 

Henry  Altemus,  Philadelphia. 


THE 


Age  of  Fable 

OR 

« 

BEAUTIES  OF  MYTHOLOGY 

By  THOMAS  BULFINCH 
With  Notes,  Revisions  and  Additions 
By  WILLIAM  H.  KLAPP, 

Head  Master  of  The  Episcopal  Academy,  Philadelphia 
With  nearly  Two  Hundred  Illustrations,  and  a  Complete  Index 
Large  i2mo.  Cloth,  448  pages.  Price,  $1.2$ 

THIS  WORK  HAS  ALWAYS  BEEN  REGARDED  AS 
CLASSICAL  AUTHORITY. 

EDMUND  BURKE  5.^Ky,_..The  Grecian  mytl  vlogy  is  so 
intimately  connected  with  the  work  of  the  greatest  poets  that  it  will 
continue  to  be  interesting  as  long  as  classical  poetry  exists,  and  must 

form  an  indispensab'e  part  of  the  education  of  the  man  of  literature 
and  of  the  gentleman.” 

THE  BOSTON  JOURNAL.-"  Whether  as  a  manual  for  reference,  a  text¬ 
book  for  school  use,  or  for  the  general  reader,  the  book  will  be  found  very  valuable 
and  interesting.” 


Henry  Altemus,  Philadelphia. 


